Derrick Ward Derrick LaRon Ward ( born August 30 , 1980 ) is a former American football running back who last played for the Houston Texans of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was originally drafted by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft . He played college football at Fresno State University and Ottawa University . Ward is the cousin of former New England Patriots running back J . R . Redmond . Ward has also played for the New York Giants . He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Giants in Super Bowl XLII . Early years . Ward attended Valley View High School in Moreno Valley , California and was a letterman in football . In football , as a senior , he posted 1 , 100 rushing yards , 973 receiving yards , and 17 touchdowns , was an All - Riverside County choice , won All - CIF honors , was the Team Co / MVP , and was named the Sun Belt League Offensive MVP . As a junior , he was not the Team MVP . College career . For his collegiate career , he rushed 460 times for 3 , 152 yards ( 6 . 9 - yard avg . ) and 39 touchdowns and caught seven passes for 96 yards ( 13 . 7 - yard avg . ) . Fresno State . He gained 1 , 091 yards with 11 touchdowns on 197 carries ( 5 . 5 - yard avg . ) and caught three passes for 49 yards ( 16 . 3 - yard avg . ) in 20 games at Fresno State . Ward was ruled academically ineligible to play at Fresno State in 1998 , he earned Freshman All - America honors the following year despite playing with a broken right hand . He was limited to only seven games for the Bulldogs in 2000 due to a knee injury . His Fresno State career ended when he was again ruled ineligible to play in 2001 and 2002 due to academics . Ottawa . Ward transferred to Ottawa University in Kansas for his final year in 2003 , when he set NAIA single - season records with 2 , 061 rushing yards , 28 touchdowns and 7 . 8 yards per carry ( 263 attempts ) . Also had 47 yards on four receptions ( 11 . 8 - yard avg . ) in ten games at Ottawa . Professional career . New York Giants . Ward was selected by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft , but never appeared in a game for them . He was signed by the Giants off the Jets practice squad on October 13 , 2004 . Ward had a good season in 2007 rushing for 602 yards on 125 touches , averaging 4 . 8 yards per carry and scoring three touchdowns . On March 14 , 2008 , Ward was re - signed by the Giants . Because of their success in the backfield during the 2008 season , Ward and his teammates Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw were jokingly referred to as Earth ( Brandon ) , Wind ( Derrick ) and Fire ( Ahmad ) . On December 21 , 2008 , Ward led the Giants ' rushing attack with 215 rushing yards in a 34 - 28 overtime victory over the Carolina Panthers to clinch homefield advantage throughout the 2009 NFL Playoffs . He finished the season with 1 , 025 yards , making him and Brandon Jacobs the fifth pair of teammates to rush for 1000 yards in a single season . The strong performance by both running backs is credited to high grade run blocking by the Giants offensive line . While playing with the Giants , Ward was a resident of Weehawken , New Jersey . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Ward was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on March 2 , 2009 . He signed a four - year contract worth $ 17 million . In the 2009 season for the Buccaneers he rushed 114 times for 409 yards and 1 touchdown . Ward was cut from the team on August 31 , 2010 . Houston Texans . On September 4 , 2010 , Ward was signed by the Houston Texans . On July 3 , 2012 , Ward announced his retirement via Twitter .