With the Houston Gamblers looking to reload at the receiver position, they bring back a familiar face with JoJo Ward.

The team announced Saturday that they were resigning wide receiver JoJo Ward to play his second season with the team.

The season started with high expectations for Ward as he was expected to be one of the starters at receiver. He found himself in and out of the lineup dealing with an injury that moved him around the active and inactive list. His biggest play of the season came with catching a 30-yard touchdown pass in Houston’s week four loss to the New Orleans Breakers.

It would end up being the only touchdown he would score with the Gamblers in the 2022 season. He finished with 16 receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown during the season.

While Ward is one of the smaller receivers at 5 foot 9 inches, he can play on the outside but is a better fit for playing in the slot. He’s quick with good hands as he caught 16 of his 23 targets last season. If it wasn’t for the injury and his bouncing in and out of the lineup, Ward would have ended up being one of the top receivers on the team.

The loss of Isaiah Zuber was a major hit for the team, but they were lucky to mostly have the remainder of their receiving core coming back. Ward will be joining Tyler Simmons, Anthony Ratliff-Williams, and Tyler Palka as the returning receivers to the passing game. He should be able to find playing time to compete against the other three receivers. Expect him and Ratliff-Williams to be the starters at receiver with Simmons potentially playing on the outside should Ward move to the slot.

Houston’s quarterback position will be a question mark as to whether Clayton Thorson returns to start or if Kenji Bahar takes his late-season job back. One good thing for whoever starts is they will have a more experienced receiving core who can make big plays. Ward is a guy who if you put him in the open space will create multiple plays for the Gamblers.