Source: 49ers re-sign safety Jimmie Ward
The 49ers decided to bring back a key member of the NFL’s best pass defense from 2019.
San Francisco on Monday night, hours after trading defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts, agreed to terms on a new three-year contract with looming free agent safety Jimmie Ward, a league source told The Bee. The deal is worth $28.5 million, according to the NFL Network.
Ward, 28, is coming off unquestionably the best season of his injury plagued six-year career while the 49ers allowed a league best 169 pass yards per game. Ward played free safety over the full season the first time and was named a Pro Bowl alternate for the first time. The move means each prominent member of the starting secondary from last season is under contract for 2020 while Buckner is the only member of the starting defense who’s gone.
Ward last season had 65 tackles and eight pass break ups. He hasn’t had an interception since 2016, though he was Pro Football Focus’ sixth-highest graded safety to play at least 300 snaps while helping San Francisco reach the Super Bowl.
The 2014 first-round draft pick has been a favorite of all four coaching staffs he’s played for and has become the club’s longest tenured defensive player. Left tackle Joe Staley, who was drafted in 2007, is the only 49er who has been around longer. Long snapper Kyle Nelson also joined the team in 2014. Tight end Garrett Celek retired earlier this offseason after signing with the club in 2012.
Ward has dealt with injuries throughout his career. He finished four of six seasons on injured reserve with fractured bones. He missed the first three games of the regular season with a broken hand after fracturing his collar bone during OTAs in June.
“Jimmie Ward has played at an extremely high level throughout his career when he’s been healthy,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said in March of 2019 after Ward signed a one-year extension. “We all know he’s struggled to stay healthy, which has been unfortunate for him. He played very hard. He’s very talented. And that’s why it’s been very hard for him to go out there and get really what he deserves as a player.”
With his new deal, at $9.5 million per season, Ward ranks tied for 12th with Patriots safety Devin McCourty in average annual salary at the position.
The 49ers earlier in the day signed defensive lineman Arik Armstead to a five-year, $85 million contract before dealing Buckner for the No. 13 pick in the upcoming draft. Buckner signed a four-year, $84 million extension with the Colts, averaging $21 million per season starting in 2021. Armstead will average $17 million.
The two moves saved San Francisco some $6 million in cap space as Armstead’s cap figure for the coming season is just $6 million on the new agreement. That gave the 49ers some $16 million in room which they used to help secure Ward.