When the Kansas City Chiefs square off against the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday it will be a revenge game on multiple fronts. Not only will the 49ers be looking to avenge their Super Bowl LIV loss to Kansas City, but Charvarius Ward will also be hungry to have a strong performance against his former team, although his status for the game is up in the air because of a groin injury suffered in Week 6.
After being traded to the Chiefs from the Cowboys in August 2018, Charvarius Ward spent four seasons in Kansas City before signing a three-year contract with the 49ers last March. His departure, along with Mike Hughes leaving, left a reasonably big hole at the cornerback position. Fortunately, the Chiefs still had L’Jarius Sneed and Rashad Fenton but also selected Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, and Jaylen Watson in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Chiefs were definitely interested in re-signing Ward but didn’t want to match the three-year, $40.5 million contract he signed with San Francisco. If Kansas City can properly develop McDuffie, Williams, and Watson, that decision may prove to be a savvy one from general manager Brett Veach.
After several years with the KC Chiefs, cornerback Charvarius Ward signed with the SF 49ers this past offseason. Will Sunday be his revenge game?
So far in 2022, playing on one of the best defenses in the NFL, Charvarius Ward is enjoying the best season of his professional career, in my opinion. It’s difficult to say as a Chiefs fan but Ward is playing better in both coverage and run defense than he ever did in Kansas City.
There are numerous reasons why Ward is playing the best football of his career after he left Kansas City. First, he’s playing on a defense that’s put less pressure on him. The 2022 San Francisco 49ers defense, led by former pro bowler DeMeco Ryans, has more talent than any defense the Chiefs have had since Ward has been in the NFL. Second, he is playing a lot less man-coverage with the Niners than he ever did in Kansas City. According to Pro Football Focus ($), Ward has been in man-coverage 18.2% of the time with the Niners in 2022, compared to 33.9% with Kansas City in 2021 ($).
Charvarius Ward has also done something with the 49ers this year that he never did in 67 career games with the Chiefs and that’s forcing a fumble (which he did so against the Broncos in Week 3). He also already has one interception in six games with San Francisco when he only had four during his entire tenure in Kansas City.
In the end, despite the failed contract negotiations, there doesn’t appear to be any ill will between Charvarius Ward and the Chiefs and there shouldn’t be. Both sides appear to have gotten what they wanted as Ward got a huge contract and is playing with less pressure than he had in Kansas City while the Chiefs got more cost-efficient at the cornerback position. Chiefs fans should be grateful for the role Ward played on a Super Bowl contender for several years, even though he doesn’t want to see many of us on game day. The Week 7 game will be a “revenge game” for the ex-Chief (if he ends up playing), like it is for almost every player facing off against his former team, but there is still mutual respect between both parties.