Editor's note: Over the next two weeks, we will examine the 49ers’ top 10 scheduled free agents. For each player, we will provide reasons why the 49ers should bring him back and reasons why they should not, followed by a final determination.
Jimmie Ward, FS
A year ago, Jimmie Ward hit the free-agent market. The 49ers wanted him back, but they were not going to offer more than a one-year, prove-it contract. Ward had to prove he could remain healthy for an entire season.
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Ward sustained a broken collarbone in the offseason program and a fractured finger just prior to the start of the regular season. He missed the first three games of the season. But Ward ended up starting 16 consecutive games, including the postseason.
Ward had a solid season. He finally found a home at free safety after constantly moving around and dealing with injuries throughout his first five seasons in the league. The only negative on Ward is that he did not generate any takeaways in 2019.
Reasons to bring him back
There are a lot of reasons Ward has been a favorite of every coaching staff that has come through Santa Clara since he arrived on the scene as a first-round draft pick in 2014. He plays hard. He works hard. He is serious about his job. He is talented. He is very coachable.
San Francisco 49ers
In short, if Ward is back at free safety, there is little to worry about. He is low maintenance. Ward was a big reason the 49ers' defense gave up few big plays in the passing game.
Ward will be entering his seventh NFL seasons, but he really is just now entering his prime because he missed so many games in his career up to this point.
If he can stay healthy, Ward might have three or four really good seasons in front of him. He can easily become one of the top free safeties in the NFL.
Reasons he does not return
The 49ers have to watch their budget this offseason. The plan is to extend defensive lineman DeForest Buckner and tight end George Kittle to lucrative contracts in the near future.
After Ward remained healthy and played at a high level, he is likely to attract some attention on the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
The 49ers selected speedster Tarvarius Moore in the third round of the 2018 draft. The club moved Moore back to safety last offseason and he started the first three games of 2019 in place of Ward.
Moore has vast potential and playmaking ability. And this is a good draft for defensive backs, so the 49ers could also add a safety in the mid-rounds to push Moore for the starting job. The 49ers need to add more young players to their secondary.
[RELATED: How Arik Armstead could return after breakout year]
Final verdict
Ward made $4.5 million last season on a one-year deal. The 49ers probably will not go much more than $5 million annually to bring him back.
It would make a lot of sense for the Cleveland Browns, with Joe Woods as their new defensive coordinator, to make a hard push for Ward. The Browns have plenty of cap space, and the 49ers would not be able to extend very far to retain Ward.
The likelihood is Ward signs a multi-year contract elsewhere, and the 49ers head into the draft with Moore and Jaquiski Tartt penciled in to be the team’s starting safeties.