The San Francisco 49ers still have a lot of faith in defensive back Jimmie Ward despite his injury history. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh spoke at length about the team's secondary on Wednesday and offered a vote of confidence in Ward, who suffered a fractured collarbone during practice last week.
Ward is expected to be healed by training camp in late-July, but injuries have plagued the sixth-year player over his career. Four of his five NFL seasons have been cut short with the defensive back landing on injured reserve. Ward suffered a fractured foot during his rookie year in 2014, a fractured clavicle in 2016, and a broken forearm in each of the last two seasons.
While initial reports stated that Ward was diving to make a play during the practice which resulted in his latest injury, Saleh believes he got tangled up with a teammate and wasn't able to stay up.
"It was a very unfortunate thing," Saleh said. "If he had pads on, it probably wouldn't have happened."
Saleh continues to believe in Ward's talent when healthy. The defensive back, who was working at safety this offseason, just needs to stay injury-free.
"When you see Jimmy play, you see his personality, you see his leadership skills, his work ethic," Saleh continued. "If you're ever going to take a risk on somebody, he's the guy. I have faith that he's going to stay healthy this season, I do. You're probably looking at me like I'm crazy but something good is about to happen for him, and that's going to be 2019."
The 49ers made Ward the No. 30 overall selection in 2014. He registered 24 combined tackles and a forced fumble through nine games and seven starts with the 49ers last year.
On March 13, San Francisco signed Ward to a one-year deal worth up to $4.5 million to have him return for the 2019 season.