49ers Rumors: Jimmie Ward Re-Signs with SF on 1-Year, $5 Million Contract

Defensive back Jimmie Ward has re-signed with the San Francisco 49ers on a one-year, $5 million deal, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

The 2014 first-round pick has spent his entire five-year career in San Francisco.

Ward is coming off a season in which he recorded 24 total tackles and one forced fumble. He was limited to just nine games, though, after suffering a broken forearm in November.

It marked the second consecutive season in which he fractured his forearm. He also ended the 2014 campaign on injured reserve as the result of a foot injury, and a broken clavicle cut his 2016 season short.

The 2015 season is the only time through his first five seasons in which he appeared in all 16 regular-season games. 

Having missed 29 of 80 games, Ward attributes his propensity for injury to his physical style of play.

"That's just how I've played...I just play physical," Ward said in November 2018, according to ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner. "I don't know no other way but to play. Corner, physical, nickel, physical, safety, physical. It's just a tough break and when it happens, it happens. I've been here before. I'm just going to grind and get back."

The Niners have apparently seen enough of him when he has been healthy to give him another chance. And at $5 million, it's a relatively low risk for the club.

The reunion shouldn't come as much of a surprise, either. Niners coach Kyle Shanahan let it be known at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine that he wanted to bring the 27-year-old defender back.

"I love Jimmie Ward," Shanahan said, according to NBC Sports' Matt Maiocco. "I really hope to have him back. We all know he's struggled a little bit to stay healthy. But he's a guy, as a person, I'll go to war with every day. I really trust and believe in, and I love him as a player, too."

San Francisco's secondary was an area of concern entering the offseason. Pro Football Focus rated the unit as the worst in football last season.