San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward said he had a meeting with general manager John Lynch on Monday. The upshot: If the price is right, the 49ers would love to have the cornerback back next season.
Ward, who is an unrestricted free agent, indicated Monday he has more than football to consider.
The 28-year-old endured a tragic personal year in 2024. He lost his 1-year-old daughter, Amani Joy, in October and revealed Monday he nearly lost his newborn son early in the pregnancy. That boy, Charvarius Jr., was born last month and is in good health. His year was so traumatic that, despite all the healthy relationships he’s built over the last three seasons, he has a negative association with California and the Bay Area.
“You know, I’ve got a lot of trauma in California,” he said. “There were great times, but the worst thing that’s happened to me — that’s probably ever gonna happen to me, knock on wood — happened in California. It just brings back bad memories. Every time I get on a plane to come back to California, San Jose, here, it’s just a bad memory. I go through that every night by myself because my girl doesn’t want to come back to California because of what happened. … She’s my strength right now. I need her.”
Ward was a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro in 2023, leading the NFL in passes defended (23) and recording five interceptions for a 49ers team that went to the Super Bowl. He missed three games this season after his daughter’s death and told The Athletic in December that football was not the preeminent force in his life.
“It’s been hard for me personally to go to work every day, every game — even to practice or go to meetings,” he said. “I almost left a couple of times. S—, I know fans probably hate me (for saying that), but f— it, it’s real life. It’s bigger than football. This is the hardest time of my life for sure.”
Ward’s actions on Monday suggested someone who was moving on. He spent the bulk of the locker clean-out period signing No. 7 jerseys and handing them out to teammates.
The 49ers also already have committed a big-money contract to the team’s other starting cornerback this season, Deommodore Lenoir. Ward might be more affordable than he would have been a year ago when he was coming off the best season of his career, but it’s still hard to see the 49ers inking a new deal with him, especially with a third cornerback, rookie Renardo Green, showing so much promise this season.
“We’ll just see what the market (says),” Ward said. “If they can afford me, there’s a chance I can come back.”
— Mike Silver contributed reporting to this story.
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