2019 seems to be picking up right where 2018 left off.
The San Francisco 49ers’ injury luck isn’t getting any better. Defensive back Jimmie Ward suffered a broken collarbone during OTAs while diving for a football, per NFL’s Ian Rapoport.
#49ers S Jimmie Ward did, in fact, fracture his collarbone, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. Out for the rest of the spring, though his exact timetable is not yet clear.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 23, 2019
This is a familiar tale for Ward, who’s ended four of his five seasons on injured reserve. He played in eight games as a rookie in 2014. His only full 16-game season was in 2016. His last three seasons have consisted of 11, seven and nine games.
Despite the injury history, the 49ers still had a very high opinion of Ward. They surrended $8.5 million to Ward in 2018 when they picked up his fifth-year option. In March, the team re-signed Ward to a one-year, $4.5 million deal. The 49ers were hoping Ward would be the answer at free safety after neglecting the position both in free agency and the draft.
The 49ers drafted Ward 30th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. Since then, he’s only appeared in 51 games in his five-year career, starting 31. Ward totaled 207 tackles, 20 passes defensed, two sacks and two interceptions.
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