{"id":238988,"date":"2025-07-10T12:03:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T16:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=238988"},"modified":"2025-07-10T12:03:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T16:03:19","slug":"charvarius-ward-is-the-indianapolis-colts-most-intriguing-free-agent-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/07\/10\/charvarius-ward-is-the-indianapolis-colts-most-intriguing-free-agent-signing\/","title":{"rendered":"Indianapolis Colts’ Most Intriguing Free Agent Signing"},"content":{"rendered":"

This offseason, the Indianapolis Colts signed cornerback Charvarius Ward. It was perhaps the team\u2019s best free agent signing.<\/p>\n

Ward, of course, wasn\u2019t the only free agent the Colts landed. They also signed guys like quarterback Daniel Jones<\/a>, safety Camryn Bynum, and running back Khalil Herbert<\/a>. In addition, they re-signed players like wide receiver Ashton Dulin and offensive lineman Danny Pinter. Still, Charvarius Ward might be the most intriguing signing.<\/p>\n

Charvarius Ward is the Indianapolis Colts’ Most Intriguing Free Agent Signing<\/h2>\n

From Undrafted to an All-Pro<\/h3>\n

Charvarius Ward went undrafted in 2018. That said, he wasn\u2019t expected to have a successful NFL career. However, he went on to become a star.<\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys<\/a> signed Ward as an undrafted free agent. Yet, he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs three months later. Ward emerged as a starter in Kansas City and eventually helped Patrick Mahomes and Co. win Super Bowl LIV.<\/p>\n

Later on, as a member of the San Francisco 49ers<\/a>, Ward put together a stellar season in 2023. That year, he recorded 72 combined tackles, a league-leading 23 pass deflections, and a team-leading five interceptions. Ward earned second-team All-Pro honors and was selected to his first Pro Bowl. He also helped the 49ers reach Super Bowl LVIII<\/a>, where they lost to the Chiefs 25-22. He had 54 tackles and seven passes defended in 2024.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"
Jan 28, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) talks with San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward (7) during the first half of the NFC Championship football game at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/h3>\n

Why Ward is a Big Deal<\/h3>\n

Indy\u2019s secondary struggled last season. The unit ranked 26th in passing yards allowed. They were shredded during an embarrassing Week 17 loss<\/a> to the New York Giants<\/a>. New York\u2019s Drew Lock passed for over 300 yards and four touchdowns in that game. Nothing against Lock, but he isn\u2019t exactly an elite quarterback.<\/p>\n

With that said, the Colts needed to upgrade their secondary this offseason. Adding Ward will certainly help. He\u2019s a former All-Pro and a Super Bowl champion. He\u2019s one of the NFL\u2019s top cornerbacks and brings a winning attitude to Indy\u2019s locker room. Plus, he could emerge as the Colts\u2019 best cornerback since Vontae Davis in the early-to-mid 2010s.<\/p>\n

Ward\u2019s PFF coverage grade was impressive in 2022 and 2023. However, it dropped significantly last season. Ryan Smith<\/a> of Pro Football Focus wrote about this:<\/p>\n

\u201cWard\u2019s 89.2 PFF overall grade over 2022 and 2023 trailed only Sauce Gardner<\/a> for the best mark among cornerbacks. He also ranked fifth in 2022 and third in 2023 in PFF advanced coverage grade, on his way to second-team All-Pro honors in 2023. 2024 was a year to forget for Ward, who posted a career-worst 56.2 PFF overall grade and played his fewest snaps (694) since his rookie season after missing time between injury and personal matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Smith mentioned, 2024 was a year to forget for Ward. But look for him to bounce back in 2025 and reclaim his status as one of the NFL\u2019s best defensive backs. The Colts certainly believe Ward can get back on track. That\u2019s why they handed him a three-year, $60 million contract.<\/p>\n

With the likes of Kenny Moore II, Bynum, Nick Cross, and Jaylon Jones, the Colts might have a much-improved secondary in 2025. And Charvarius Ward could be the main reason why.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Grace Hollars\/IndyStar \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cornerback Charvarius Ward, who the Colts landed this offseason, could be the team\u2019s most intriguing free agent signing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":239333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,12],"tags":[5645,7800],"class_list":["post-238988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-colts","tag-charvarius-ward","tag-indianapolis-colts-news"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238988"}],"version-history":[{"count":54,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239337,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238988\/revisions\/239337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}