Charvarius Ward seems like the odd man out.
He will be a free agent at the end of this season and presumably would like an extension because he has earned one and all players want financial security. But he almost certainly won’t get an extension from the 49ers because they extended Brandon Aiyuk and they’re going to extend Brock Purdy and they want to extend Deommodore Lenoir who’s just 25.
Ward is 28, and although he’s coming off a Pro Bowl season, he currently has a knee injury and he’s playing the worst football of his career according to him. Perhaps he would like a fresh start somewhere else. Somewhere that’s invested in him.
And maybe the 49ers feel they can trade him for a player at an another position. Maybe they feel they can win with Lenoir, Renardo Green and Isaac Yiadom at cornerback. Those three certainly performed well this past Thursday night during the 49ers’ 36-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. They shut down D.K. Metcalf, one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.
After the game when a reporter asked Kyle Shanahan if he was surprised that the 49ers did so well against Metcalf without Ward on the field, Shanahan said, “Not really. Lenoir is one of the best cornerbacks in the league, Green is stepping up and Yiadom has done a hell of a job.”
Sounds like the time has come for the 49ers and Ward to go their separate ways.