49ers vs. Texans: 3 San Francisco players needing a strong Week 2 of preseason

Defensive Back Jimmie Ward

Jimmie Ward‘s performance against the Cowboys starters did not bode well for his future.

Just look at this play. Or look at this picture, which shows it all:

The only 49ers player in the picture is Ward because he got burned. In all reality, Ward shouldn’t be an outside cornerback. In the 49ers Cover 3 scheme, outside corners need to have long arms and be physical to press up on receivers. Ward doesn’t fit those characteristics.

He’s also been so injured that he lost practically every job available. Just last year, he was the starting free safety until a broken forearm put him on IR and gave Adrian Colbert a chance to shine.

Ward’s best spot on the 49ers would be slot cornerback, but as I have detailed before, that position is occupied by K’Waun Williams, who, according to Pro Football Focus (h/t Vincent Frank of Forbes), was the second best cornerback on the 49ers roster last year.

If you went and read Aaron Tan’s article, you’ll see that he put D.J. Reed as one of his players. Well, if we accept the fact that Ward will not be an outside corner, he’s competing with Reed for the same spots, backups at free safety and slot corner. This provides an interesting dilemma.

Frank (h/t Niner Noise’s Peter Panacy) wrote about potentially cutting Ward, and he added that “If the 49ers are looking to put the 53-best players out there when Week 1 comes calling, there’s legitimately a question as to whether Ward is even in that group.” Would the 49ers possibly risk losing a young player loaded with potential to keep Ward for just a year?

All that points to Ward potentially getting cut. Without a good game on Saturday, Ward’s place on the roster will slip further and further out of reach.

This is such an important matter that we have multiple viewpoints on this subject. For a different take and analysis, check out the post above.