Re-signing Jimmie Ward should be 49ers No. 1 priority in 2020

The San Francisco 49ers a number of key NFL free agency decisions this offseason, but the top item on the list is to re-sign defensive back Jimmie Ward.

Out of the three biggest pending free agents the San Francisco 49ers have entering the 2020 offseason, defensive back Jimmie Ward is arguably the least known. And by default, he’s probably the third biggest option on the re-sign watch list.

It makes sense why the Niners should try bringing back defensive tackle Arik Armstead. After all, he led a stout San Francisco defense in sacks last year with 10. The 49ers pass offense also took off after the team picked up wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders midseason.

Still, making Ward the top re-sign priority is something general manager John Lynch and Co. should do this offseason.

Sure, Ward has had an injury history, which carried over into 2019 training camp. But that might end up being a blessing, as it could lower any perceived contract value. Remember, the Niners brought Ward back on a relatively cheap one-year, $4.5 million deal with plenty of incentives last season. The former first-round NFL Draft pick from 2014 surely will cost more in 2020, and the 49ers have limited resources, cap-wise.

But that’s not enough to dissuade Lynch from trying to re-sign Ward.

San Francisco’s defense was solidified on the back end by Ward’s presence in arguably coordinator Robert Saleh’s second most-important position behind a weak-side edge rusher, free safety. And in this role, Ward performed exceptionally well. According to Pro Football Focus, Ward ended up being ranked the No. 6 overall safety in 2019 with an impressive 84.9 season grade for the year.

Should Ward depart in free agency, it’ll be hard for the 49ers to replicate that kind of production — elements of which suggest Ward is finally playing like a first-round draft choice.

The initial assumption, should Ward go, would be third-year pro Tarvarius Moore steps into the starting role, which is what Saleh tried late in the preseason and into Week 1, generating mixed results. Another option would be to move strong safety Jaquiski Tartt into Ward’s vacated spot, then promoting third-year pro Marcell Harris to take Tartt’s place.

Yet it doesn’t take much to see how either solution is a probable downgrade. And with limited options on the open NFL free agency market, as well as the draft, making all efforts to keep Ward around should be high up on Lynch’s to-do list.

That doesn’t quite answer why Ward should be above either Armstead or Sanders, though.

In those two cases, it’s not an argument about San Francisco letting either one of those two players walk, although the chances of re-signing Sanders appear slim. Some tweaking might be required to re-sign Armstead, however, which is a bonus.

But the big kicker behind either position is the Niners have other options or better depth than they do at safety. At wide receiver, Trent Taylor is poised to return from a 2019 foot injury, and Deebo Samuel showed he can potentially serve a No. 1 role. Along the defensive line, well, it was easily San Francisco’s deepest position in 2019. Losing Armstead would hurt, but nowhere near as much as losing a player like Ward.

In all likelihood, the 49ers will probably be able to bring back two of their top three pending free agents, Armstead and Ward.

Yet if there are any hangups about which of those two San Francisco needs to make the bigger priority, it’s Ward.