Vikings Projected to Sign Top Free Agent Cornerback

Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has to navigate his organization through uncertainty in the secondary. Safeties Harrison Smith and Cam Bynum could depart, as well as cornerbacks Byron Murphy, Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin, and Fabian Moreau.

Vikings Projected to Sign Top Free Agent Cornerback

The executive has roughly $63 million to fill those voids, but he needs to land a splash to solidify the cornerback room for defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

That man could be 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward. ESPN’s Aaron Schatz projects the Vikings to lure the free agent to the Twin Cities.

Schatz wrote, “The Vikings will likely lose both of their outside cornerbacks — Byron Murphy Jr. and Stephon Gilmore — in free agency. Ward makes for a good replacement. He’s solid in both man and zone coverage, and the 49ers played more zone this past season while the Vikings play a lot of zone behind Brian Flores’ blitz packages.”

Ward will turn 29 in May but has plenty left in the tank. After his first preseason, the 2018 undrafted rookie was traded from the Cowboys to the Chiefs. He then spent four seasons with the Chiefs and the last three with the 49ers.

The cornerback has played in 102 regular season games (89 starts) in his career and added 17 games of postseason experience, including a pair of Super Bowl appearances.

Schatz continued, “Ward had a below-average coverage DVOA in 12 games in 2024 with only seven passes defensed. But in 2023, he ranked 26th in coverage DVOA, led the NFL with 23 passes defensed and had five interceptions. He’s still just 29, so there are a couple more seasons of prime performance left for him.”

The defender wouldn’t be a cheap option by any means. Pro Football Focus lists his expected contract at $14.5 million for each of the next three seasons, with $25 million being fully guaranteed.

Flores needs better cornerback play to fully unleash his defensive scheme. He has been forced to secure his blitzes with zone coverage on the backend, primarily because he didn’t have the man-coverage cornerbacks at his disposal.

Ward could fill that void.

In addition to Ward, the Vikings would need at least another cornerback. Another expensive cover guy like D.J. Reed, Rasul Douglas, or a return of Byron Murphy could elevate the defensive unit in the third year under Flores’ watch.

PFF wrote about Ward, “Ward struggled in 2024 and posted career lows in a number of PFF metrics, but his overall body of work will keep him as one of the top options on the market in 2025. Last year was his best in the NFL to date, with his 86.5 PFF coverage grade ranking third among all players at the position. With cornerback teammate Deommodore Lenoir receiving an in-season extension, the writing appears to be on the wall that Ward will be on the way out of San Francisco.”

The 49ers need to lower their cap hits around some major contributors. Quarterback Brock Purdy is expected to get a huge contract extension and guys like Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner are also getting paid by San Francisco.

Ward would undoubtedly be one of the best free-agent signings the Vikings could make. Expect him to be on Minnesota’s radar when free agency begins with the legal tampering window on March 10th.

Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.

Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt