Every NFL team loses important players to free agency.
Letting that player walk will occasionally seem like a wise choice, and other times it will be a sad one. The San Francisco 49ers gave free agency to a player who seemed like an army. It was impossible to keep every player, as some, like right tackle Mike McGlinchey, were not worth the investment. His tenure with the Denver Broncos has been disastrous.
But one player who was definitely worth retaining out of every free agent was safety Jimmie Ward. The longest tenured 49ers player had a choice to stay with his team for another stint, or seek a new start. He chose the new start by following DeMeco Ryans to the Houston Texans. The deal breaker for Ward was that he could play his natural position at safety again and not be an indefinite nickel corner. Ward was displeased with the transition last season, which factored in significantly into his departure from the 49ers.
With his absence, the 49ers had to fill a key position at slot corner, so they went and signed Isaiah Oliver from the Atlanta Falcons at the behest of Steve Wilks. Flip the page to Week 9, and Oliver is looking tragic for the 49ers. At best, he has been a roller-coaster-ride type of player. But in the last two games specifically he has been putrid. He’s not quick enough to stay in coverage with most receivers and is easily shaken at the line of scrimmage.
The 49ers are feeling the loss of Ward.
No other player that left in free agency is making the 49ers hurt more than him. The drop off from Ward to Oliver is massive. San Francisco completely underestimated how valuable Ward was to the defense. He was a magic eraser against receivers or tight ends that he was assigned to cover. And in zone defense, he ensured that the middle of the field was a warzone along with Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. It was a fantastic trio that they had, but thanks to the relationship being fractured in the end from last season, Ward chose to leave.
However, money talks. If the 49ers had simply paid Ward his worth, then he possibly changes his tune about his role. A top paid slot corner gets paid significantly less than a top paid safety, which is what the 49ers tried to do. In reality, he should’ve been paid as a top safety because he was a safety, slot corner, and practically a linebacker as well. His loss surely plays a bit of a role in the run defense being poor, too. Countless times you would see Ward shoot into the running lane to meet the running back. He was not afraid of contact.
It’s always easy to point out what went wrong after the fact, but in March I was advocating for the 49ers to re-sign. I understood investing a high sum of money into an aging player who always misses a bit of time due to injury. That is probably what it dwindled down to for the 49ers, but again, they underestimated just how key of a player Ward is and they are feeling it now with Oliver being a mess through eight games.
And I doubt it is going to get better anytime soon.
