Soul signs DB Ward

By John McMullen

(The Phanatic Magazine) - The Soul signed defensive back Nick Ward to the active roster and defensive back Stephen Cason to the practice squad on Friday.

Ward (6’0, 195) joins the Soul after playing three games with the Kansas City Brigade last season, where he tallied 13 1/2 tackles, three interceptions and two passes defended.

Ward played college football at the University of Miami, where he led the Big East Conference with 10.2 yards per punt return in 1998.

Cason played the first half of the 2008 season with the Georgia Force, where he recorded 39 tackles and two interceptions. Cason previously played with the Green Bay Blizzard of the af2 in 2007 where he posted a team-high 113 tackles.

The El Paso, Texas native played collegiately at William and Mary where he recorded 186 tackles and eight interceptions, earning second-team All-Atlantic 10 and All-10 honors.

Earlier this week the Soul released DB Jeremy LeSueur, who appeared on special teams in Philadelphia’s loss to Cleveland last Friday.

Meanwhile, an arbitrator heard New York Dragons defensive lineman John Nix’s grievance regarding his $1,000 fine and one-game suspension, which resulted from a late hit on Tony Graziani during Week 3.

The arbitrator upheld the suspension but reduced the fine to $400.

Nix will be suspended for the Dragons May 18 game vs. Georgia and cannot practice with the Dragons from May 12-19.

Graziani suffered a sprained knee from the Nix hit and has not been healthy since.