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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won in 2024 despite their defense — something an elite general manager like Jason Licht will no doubt try to remedy in the offseason.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks one solution for Tampa Bay could be bringing in NFL All-Pro cornerback Charvarius Ward via free agency.
Ward, who will turn 29 years old in May, has played the last 3 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. He also won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs following the 2019 season.
Knox has Ward ranked as the No. 9 overall available free agent.
“Ward remains a high-end starter who was phenomenal when fully healthy in 2023,” Knox wrote. “… The Buccaneers, who finished the season ranked 29th in passing yards allowed, should also be interested in a cornerback of Ward’s caliber. Tampa won’t be loaded with cap room, but it is expected to have $23.8 million available.”
From Undrafted to One of NFL’s Elite Cornerbacks
Ward is one of the great success stories in recent NFL history.
The McComb, Mississippi, native played 2 seasons at Hinds Community College before transferring to Middle Tennessee for 2 more seasons, but still went undrafted in 2018.
Ward signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys and was on a path to making the 53-man roster when he was traded to the Chiefs 1 week before the regular season and put on their 53-man roster. As a rookie, he played in 13 games and started 2 games as the Chiefs lost a heartbreaker to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game — a game most remembered for Ward’s game-clinching interception of Tom Brady waved off after Chiefs defensive end Dee Ford jumped offsides.
The Chiefs made Ward a full-time starter in 2019 and he responded by starting all 16 games, with 74 tackles, 2 interceptions, 10 pass deflections and 1 forced fumble. Most importantly, he was part of the defense that brought Kansas City its first Super Bowl win in 50 years.
Ward was a full-time starter for the Chiefs for 3 seasons before he signed a 3-year, $40.5 million free agent contract with the 49ers before the 2022 season.
In 2023, Ward had the best season of his career with 72 tackles, 5 interceptions, 1 interception returned for a touchdown, 1 forced fumble and a league-leading 23 pass deflections. Ward was named NFL All-Pro and a Pro Bowler and helped lead the 49ers to an NFC title before falling to his old team, the Chiefs, in an overtime loss in Super Bowl LVIII.
Trying to Calculate What Ward Might Cost Bucs
Just 1 season removed from being an NFL All-Pro, it’s a safe bet Ward will sign a contract that pays him in the same vicinity of his current salary — he made $13.5 million in 2024 — although the length of the deal is probably where the real debate begins.
If the Buccaneers are truly desperate to get a shutdown corner, they could start with a 2-year, $30 million contract offer that would presumably be hard for Ward to turn down.
The bigger danger for a team like the Buccaneers is a team that’s also a contender and has a massive amount of salary cap space, like the Washington Commanders, stepping in with either a 3-year contract or a 2-year contract that pays in the neighborhood of $19 million per year, which would put Ward among the Top 10 highest paid players at his position.
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