Charvarius Ward’s Play Will Force the Chiefs to Make a Tough Decision
After returning from an early-season injury, Charvarius Ward has been playing excellent football for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Since the Chiefs traded for Ward heading into the 2018 season, he has consistently played above and beyond expectations. He was a former undrafted free agent for the Dallas Cowboys, and the Chiefs acquired him in exchange for offensive lineman Parker Ehinger. Looking back, it's safe to say that this trade might have been the savviest of Brett Veach’s tenure so far as general manager. Ehinger has done nothing of note in the league since the swap, and Ward has been a key piece of the Chiefs' secondary for years.
There is an issue now, however. Ward is a free agent next offseason.
If they continue to draft as they did in 2021, the Chiefs will be facing issues with players like Ward over the course of Patrick Mahomes’ lengthy contract. It's not just big-name players like Tyrann Mathieu who are difficult to find contracts and balance salary cap hits for. An issue for many teams is finding a way to keep their litany of important role players on the roster.
In almost all cases, teams cannot keep every role player that is performing well. There's a reason why there are talented players in every free agency class. As the Chiefs head into offseasons where more and more talented players in-house are up for contracts, they will be faced with this dilemma numerous times. This issue will show its face more and more as Mahomes’ salary cap hits slowly, but surely, rise.
A new contract for Ward will not break the bank. If he were to get a new deal from the Chiefs, it would probably look somewhat similar to the contract Michael Davis, who was a similar player to Ward at the time of signing, got from the Chargers last year. Neither was the top cornerback on his team and both came into the league as undrafted free agents. Both also had some ups and downs but were good players overall. Davis got a three-year, $25 million contract from the Chargers last spring before he hit free agency. A similar, but probably slightly more expensive, contract for Ward seems likely.
Again: the Chiefs can't simply give out these contracts to every role player that is playing well. With players like Rashad Fenton, Juan Thornhill, Derrick Nnadi and others up for contracts in the next two years, a steady stream of $8M per year contracts is not how to build a football team. It's how to sink one.
Other teams have figured out the formula: selectively keep role players deemed vital and let the overperformers and not-quite-as-important players leave in free agency for compensatory picks. The Ravens are famous for being fantastic at winning the compensatory pick game, regularly pulling down several of them per year and using them to rebuild their depth.
The Chiefs will need to decide this offseason if Ward is a key role player to keep around for the future. It's a tough decision, as Veach has found a few cornerbacks later in the draft or on the open market (L'Jarius Sneed, Ward, Fenton) who outperformed the expectations of their teams' original investments. Despite that, cornerback is a very important position in the NFL and keeping the good ones around will never be a wrong decision. Ward has been effective as an outside cornerback against basically every wide receiver he has faced — even the elite ones — so the decision on his future with the Chiefs will certainly be a tough one.
How the Chiefs handle Ward's expiring contract will be an early example of how Veach will handle role players and their contracts. Ward has definitely played well enough for a second contract from the Chiefs and that money wouldn't be too substantial but in an offseason where Orlando Brown and Tyrann Mathieu also need new deals, will there be enough money to go around? Time will tell, but Ward’s play on the field and the position he does it at will make Veach think twice about keeping him.
