Across the span of the 2024-25 season, second-year Houston Texans safety Jimmie Ward saw his campaign get derailed due to injury, limited to just 10 starts across the 17-game stretch, and ended up missing his pair of regular-season and two postseason matchups to close out last year due to a foot ailment.
All in all, a rough outcome for the 33-year-old veteran in the back end of the Texans' defense last season. However, according to a recent update from head coach DeMeco Ryans, Ward seems to be trending up in terms of his health ahead of the 2025 season.
Per Ryans, Jimmie Ward is now out of his walking boot, and "doing fine," in a report from ESPN insider DJ Bien-Aime.
"DeMeco Ryans says S Jimmie Ward is doing fine and is out of his boot," Bien-Aime said. "Says Jimmie can help the Texans win football games. Called him a great football player. Jimmie Ward’s season ended in Week 16 of the 2024 season because of a foot injury."
Ward has suited up in 20 total games for the Texans since joining aboard in the 2023 offseason, logging 98 total tackles, seven passes defended, and forcing four turnovers in his tenure. Both seasons in the mix have been a bit limited due to injury, but looking ahead to his status for year three, signs are pointing in a positive direction.
For next season, Ward will be in a reinforced safety group headlined by Calen Bullock and new offseason addition C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who came aboard the Texans' roster thanks to the trade earlier this offseason with the Philadelphia Eagles, sending former first-rounder Kenyon Green over in exchange.
Last year, the Texans' secondary remained one of the stronger units in the league, and reimplementing the veteran safety back in may only help the outlook of this group moving forward. Ward seems to be in a good spot in terms of his recovery, and if so, it could mean big things for the back end of this Houston defense in 2025.
