THE Minnesota Vikings have found a temporary solution to their cornerback problems before 2024, but they will have to return to the well next March.

Signing Stephon Gilmore in August proved to be a smart move, and Shaq Griffin and Byron Murphy Jr. helped form one of the best defenses in the NFL over the first half of the season. The problem ? All three of these players are impending free agents, alongside backup Fabian Moreau, a seventh-year pro now playing for his fifth different team.

Minnesota is expected to be active in the cornerback market in 2025. With this major need in mind, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox predicted the team could attempt to lure starter Charvarius Ward from San Francisco 49ers in a potential thunderbolt in free agency.

Knox called Minnesota a “logical landing spot” for Ward given the situation ahead at the position, while naming the Washington Commanders as potential competition.

Is the former undrafted free agent a potential fit for the Vikings? Let’s dig deeper.

Buy or sell: Charvarius Ward to the Minnesota Vikings in 2025

Ward was a Pro Bowler last season for the first time in his six-year career. He was a shutdown corner in 2023, leading the NFL with 23 assists while snagging five interceptions, 72 total tackles and an opposing passer rating of 56.8, by PFF.

He took a step back in the first half of 2024, however, becoming PFF’s No. 82 cornerback through the first nine weeks. It’s possible he wasn’t 100% healthy, as he missed San Francisco’s Week 6 Thursday Night Football game against the Seattle Seahawks with a knee injury.

Ward is on the right side of 30 and should turn 29 in May. He spent four seasons in Kansas City before joining the 49ers in 2022, so he’s played in a ton of big games, including three career Super Bowls.

His experience and tenacity as a player who started at a community college, transferred to Middle Tennessee State and went on to forge a solid NFL career after not being invited to the recruiting pool of 2018 could attract a Vikings team looking to get over the hump.

The verdict: Buy

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