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The bulk of the free agency attention for Kansas City Chiefs fans may be on Orlando Brown Jr. and Tyrann Mathieu but Charvarius Ward is another name to keep an eye on.
The hot-and-cold cornerback has gone from no-name to starter after KC acquired him from Dallas in what turned out to be a big-time fleecing by the Chiefs. The 2018 deal only sent back depth offensive lineman Parker Ehinger in return.
Now Ward is an unrestricted free agent and according to most analysts, he may have played his last snap for Kansas City. On March 1, GM Brett Veach put a wrench in those theories, telling reporters that the Chiefs would still like to re-sign the cornerback.
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‘I Would Love to Have Charvarius Back’
When asked about Ward at the NFL combine on the first of the month, Veach’s initial reaction was that “he’s a really good player.” He continued:
You know [you] talk about what he’s accomplished over the last four years, acquiring him via trade from Dallas and then early on, right off the bat, he showed how talented he was on special teams and year by year he got better and better and better. And he’s certainly a guy that — just like Tyrann [Mathieu] and some more of these players — we’re going to have dialogue with them. I would love to have Charvarius back, I think he’s a talented player, he’s done well in our scheme, coaches like him, I like him, and it’s one of those things that you have to work through in free agency when you have a talented roster.
Veach concluded that they’ll “look forward” to spending time with Ward over the next few weeks to negotiate a new deal.
By no means was that a guarantee by Veach, and you get the sense that Ward might still end up becoming an offseason sacrifice if guys like Mathieu and Brown return. The Chiefs still need help at edge rusher and wide receiver but they also need a starting CB.
Many fans will argue Ward isn’t the guy and that’s fair, but you still have to replace him if he walks. One option is to draft a defensive back in the early rounds.
Plenty of mocks have the Chiefs taking a safety but if Mathieu returns, that becomes far less likely. Veach could select a cornerback instead in this scenario. If Mathieu doesn’t come back, they’d have more money to afford a premium replacement in free agency or via trade.
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Latest PFF Update Sends Ward to New England
In an updated free agency landing spot prediction from Pro Football Focus, analyst Arjun Menon sent Ward to the New England Patriots.
He explained: “Ward has been the Chiefs’ primary boundary corner for the last three years, and he’s played at an average leverage, taking a small step forward this year. His 71.2 PFF grade ranked 21st out of 116 cornerbacks, and he finished with a 69.4 coverage grade as well.”
Menon continued: “On top of re-signing JC Jackson, the Patriots need additional corners to run Belichick’s man coverage system. Ward has done his best work playing man coverage rather than zone, making this a good fit for both parties.”
Mike Hughes, Deandre Baker and Chris Lammons are also free agents — and the latter was recently charged in a battery case. Let’s say Ward and the others end up elsewhere, only L’Jarius Sneed, Rashad Fenton and Zayne Anderson would remain.
Veach needs to find some reinforcements at this position, with or without Ward.
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