It has been an uncharacteristic season so far for the San Francisco 49ers, and it's certainly not an ideal time for one.
With the 49ers hoping to avenge their Super Bowl loss last February, the clock is ticking on keeping this superstar-laden roster together. Star quarterback Brock Purdy is still making pennies as part of his rookie contract, and that will likely end this spring when he's up for an extension.
Purdy receiving a $50 million-ish pay bump means lots of star players who aren't locked up for the future will become difficult to find under the 49ers salary cap. That includes star cornerback Charvarius Ward, who is a free agent after the 2024 season.
Ward is the unquestioned star of the 49ers' cornerback group, but he's also one of the few defensive standouts San Francisco doesn't have under a long-term extension. That puts Ward at high risk of jumping ship if another team is willing to offer the most money.
On Monday, Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department predicted that Ward would land with the Chicago Bears in 2025, a young team on the rise with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams leading the charge.
"The front office is currently projected to have about $73 million of cap space available this offseason, per Over The Cap, so it has the funds to go after a big fish and have one of the best cornerback duos in the league," the authors said.
"Paired with Jaylon Johnson, completions would be hard to come by in The Windy City seeing as Ward has 67 career passes defended, including four in the first four weeks of 2024."
After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, Ward has undeniably boosted his stock in the last three with San Francisco. He made his first Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro in 2023, leading the NFL with 23 pass breakups.
The simple problem the 49ers will find themselves running into is that they won't necessarily have money to offer Ward, but other teams will. $20+ million is the new going rate for a top corner's yearly salary, and a team like the Bears could fit that neatly into their payroll.
Talking extensions with Ward will be one of the most stressful parts of San Francisco's offseason, but they've got bigger fish to fry for now. Convincing their top corner to stick around starts with making another deep postseason run in 2024.
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