Getty San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward.
Before the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the 2024 Super Bowl, 49ers cornerback and former Chief, Charvarius Ward, sparked outrage within Chiefs Kingdom when he claimed playing for the 49ers was better than playing for the Chiefs “in every possible way.”
But on May 20, Ward cleared the air regarding his comments about Kansas City during Super Bowl media day.
“Look, I said that, but I love Kansas City — I had a helluva time, from the training staff, from the people in the lunch room, all of the janitors, the coaching staff, the players, I made a whole lot of friendships out there.” Ward said on the “Up & Adams” show. “I just said that — it was the first question they asked me when I got on the podium. So I was like ‘damn, they ain’t give me time to simmer down and calm down and get comfortable.’ They threw that question at me and I said what I said, but Kansas City was a great spot for me. I loved it there.”
Charvarius Ward: From Undrafted to One of NFL’s Best CBs
Ward, 28, entered the NFL undrafted out of Middle Tennessee State in 2018. He originally signed with the Dallas Cowboys but was traded to the Chiefs in August 2018.
After battling his way onto Kansas City’s active roster during his rookie season, Ward worked his way into a starting role in year 2. From there, he continued to develop during each of his next two seasons with the Chiefs, which positioned him to sign a three-year, $40 million deal with San Francisco during the 2022 offseason.
Ward was named second-team All-Pro during the 2023 season and was also named to the Pro Bowl.
Ward is one of several examples of late-round/undrafted cornerbacks the Chiefs have taken under their wing and developed into a high-quality starter. Other recent examples include L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie. Jaylen Watson, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, isn’t a high-quality starter yet but is trending in that direction.
The two-time defending champions hope to continue that development trend with Kamal Hadden, who the Chiefs selected in the sixth round of April’s Draft. Hadden is 6-foot-1, 196 pounds, and played his college ball at Tennessee.
Kansas City general manager Brett Veach spoke about Hadden and what he brings to the Chiefs during his press conference on April 29.
“(Kamal) Hadden was a guy that we kind of targeted there day three, tough physical kid, think he has a good press skillset and just like the way he plays and again,” Veach explained during his press conference. “The one thing that we prioritize in the defensive backfield is not just the size but physicality and (we) think he’ll certainly bring that.”
Twitter/X Reacts to Charvarius Ward’s Clarification
Users on X, formerly Twitter, reacted to Ward clarifying the comments he made about the Chiefs before the 2024 Super Bowl.
“Aww, I thought he was gonna say the vibes in SF are out of this world and that’s what made him say that. Why are they so mean to our guy,” one user wrote.
“‘Settle it week 7’. I promise you if KC loses that game it will mean virtually nothing. Mahomes is 4-0 against the 9ers and 2-0 in the SB. A regular season game means very little,” another user wrote.