Charvarius Ward signs with San Francisco 49ers, tweets goodbye to KC

Charvarius Ward has a new home. The now-former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback has landed with the San Francisco 49ers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The contract is a three-year deal worth up to $42 million with $26.7 million guaranteed.

The Chiefs acquired Ward, 25, at the end of training camp in 2018, with general manager Brett Veach sending offensive lineman Parker Ehinger to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for the cornerback. As it played out, Ward would appear in 56 games (including 43 starts) for the Chiefs over four seasons, while Ehinger would never play for the Cowboys after suffering a knee injury.

He tweeted from his personal Twitter account shortly after the announcement of the 49ers’ signing.

Ward finishes his Chiefs career with 222 tackles (168 solo), including three tackles for loss. He also had 29 passes defensed, four interceptions, one forced fumble and one sack. His résumé contains 10 playoff starts, including all three games en route to the Super Bowl LIV championship.

The Chiefs could have retained Ward in an ideal world, but he priced himself out of Kansas City at $14 million per year. The Chiefs entered the offseason with many positions to address, including defensive end and safety (which they did by signing Justin Reid earlier in the evening). They also plan to add a big name at wide receiver.

Ward has been a rather reliable player for Kansas City, and he leaves the Chiefs organization with a championship ring. The Chiefs will need to add cornerbacks to a room that is now light in depth — L’Jarius Sneed and Rashad Fenton are the only cornerbacks with significant 2021 snaps under contract.