He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 2000 NFL draft.
He later played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), with whom he won the Grey Cup.
Soward burst onto the college football scene with a 4-touchdown game against UCLA in his freshman season with USC.
[6] After wearing out his welcome with the Jaguars in training camp, before playing in his first game under head coach Tom Coughlin (who had gone so far as to send a limousine, at the team's expense, to pick up Soward every day for practice, just to make sure he would come), he was suspended several times by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
[14] The Florida Times-Union reported that Soward remained on the Jaguars' roster through the 2002 season for salary cap purposes.
"[5] After entering the NFL's substance abuse program, Soward was critical about its effectiveness, stating: "It was horrible counseling.
"[5] Soward ended his lone season in the NFL appearing in 13 games, and caught 14 passes for 154 yards with one touchdown.
[18][19] As an Argonaut, his primary role in the offense was as a fly route receiver that stretched the defense and whose long receptions usually translated into touchdowns.
In 2005, Soward and the Argonauts were unable to repeat as back-to-back champions, losing the Eastern Division Championship to the Montreal Alouettes.
After scoring a touchdown, he ran into a concession stand setup behind the end zone, grabbed a bag of popcorn, and shared it with a teammate and nearby fans.
"[20] In 2006, when asked about the popcorn incident prior to a rematch against the Alouettes, Soward stated that he felt the criticism against him was unjust and that he would do it again if the opportunity presented itself.