ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Indianapolis Colts are signing San Francisco 49ers free-agent cornerback Charvarius Ward to a three-year, $60 million deal, which includes $35 million guaranteed and a $20 million signing bonus. The signing can be made official on Wednesday—the start of the new league year.
Former 49ers CB Charvarius Ward reached agreement on a three-year deal worth up to $60 million including $35 million guaranteed and a $20 million signing bonus with the Indianapolis Colts.
Deal negotiationed by Kevin Conner and Robert Brown of @UniSportsMgmt.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 10, 2025
Unless the 49ers add a cornerback in free agency or next month's draft, Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green are expected to be the team's top two corners in 2025.
Ward (6-1, 196) entered the NFL in 2018 as an undrafted free agent signed by the Dallas Cowboys out of Middle Tennessee. However, he never played a game for Dallas. The Cowboys traded the cornerback to the Kansas City Chiefs during the preseason.
Ward went on to spend five productive seasons with the Chiefs, becoming a key contributor to their Super Bowl LIV championship team. In 2022, he signed a lucrative three-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.
In 2024, Ward appeared in 12 games for the 49ers, recording 54 tackles (including one for a loss) and seven passes defensed, per Pro Football Reference. He missed time following the heartbreaking loss of his daughter, a tragedy that he later admitted left him wanting a change of scenery.
"I got a lot of trauma in California," Ward told reporters. "I had a lot of great times, but the worst thing that's ever happened to me, that's probably gonna ever happen to me ... happened in California. So, again, it just brings up bad memories."
Ward, 28, has accumulated 435 tackles (nine for a loss), three quarterback hits, one sack, 70 passes defensed, 10 interceptions, one touchdown, and three forced fumbles across 102 career games (89 starts) over seven NFL seasons.