Colts sign CB Charvarius Ward to 3 year, $60M contract

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

I hope Ward is more of an adult than to get caught up in some bullshit macho "this is who I am" shit. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy isn't something you can macho out. It destroys your mind, which is who we are as human beings. While those of us fans have long forgotten Ward his family could suffer for decades at the hands of this. Think Junior Sea or Mike Webster or a ton of men we don't know about (91% of brain scans on ex NFL football players showed signs of CTE). Your time in the NFL always ends, I hope Chavarius ends his career now, before he does anymore damage to his brain.

o


I would hope that everybody (myself included) were more adult than to support a sport that is so incredibly viscous, violent, and destructive such as tackle football. As you said, 91% of NFL football players showed signs of CTE ...... yet here we are, posting on a Colts fan website, supporting this viscous, savage, inhumane public spectacle in which our fellow human beings' brains are being turned into mush. So while you are advocating that "enough is enough" at some point, I would argue that all of us (myself included) are selfish, Roman Coliseum-like sadists who continue to cheer on these fools as they destroy their brains and their bodies.

As Racehorse pointed out, the football team owners are full of shit when they claimed that they were "following the science" when they added a 17th regular-season game and subtracted a pre-season game prior to the 2021 season ...... if they were following the science, they would be playing flag football instead of tackle football.

o

[Oldcolt]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


I would hope that everybody (myself included) were more adult than to support a sport that is so incredibly viscous, violent, and destructive such as tackle football. As you said, 91% of NFL football players showed signs of CTE ...... yet here we are, posting on a Colts fan website, supporting this viscous, savage, inhumane public spectacle in which our fellow human beings' brains are being turned into mush. So while you are advocating that "enough is enough" at some point, I would argue that all of us (myself included) are selfish, Roman Coliseum-like sadists who continue to cheer on these fools as they destroy their brains and their bodies.

As Racehorse pointed out, the football team owners are full of shit when they claimed that they were "following the science" when they added a 17th regular-season game and subtracted a pre-season game prior to the 2021 season ...... if they were following the science, they would be playing flag football instead of tackle football.

o

I agree with you. I am a hypocrite about this whole thing. I tried to quit football but couldn't. I have no answer but wish the NFL was more accountable. It bothers me.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

I agree with you. I am a hypocrite about this whole thing. I tried to quit football, but couldn't. I have no answer, but I wish the NFL was more accountable. It bothers me.

o


Don't be so hard on yourself, Old Colt. You, me, and millions of other people are in the same conundrum. In the majority of our lives we advocate kindness and loving toward our fellow human beings, but we have this one very questionable, violent portion of it which we just don't want to let go of ...... in our hearts we know that we are hypocrites, but we keep doing it anyway.

o

[apballin]

It’s pretty simple to me all of our jobs have risks and yet we go out there and do them anyway. Getting paid crumbs in comparison to what these NFL players get paid, every single one of them basically hit the lottery some more fortunate than others. At some point you have to look in the mirror and say I’ve proven my point and I’m ok with where my legacy goes from here. Factoring in the amount of money you’ve made in your career and your accomplishments.

It’s a violent game and that’s what we love about it. There was nothing more stress reliving for me than watching guys like Bob Sanders, Jason Belser, Clint Sessions, Freeney, Mathis, Franklin, Buckner, and Stewart can’t forget Clayton Geathers (I’ll never forget that 4th down hit). Laying a sledgehammer hit on a guy with the ball in the name of Indianapolis Colts while wearing the Blue Horseshoe on his helmet.

Playing in the NFL is a privilege guys run in burning buildings for way less. While you’re in it you lay it all on the line, but when it’s time to call it a career you don’t hesitate.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

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Colts’ Charvarius Ward Opens up About Daughter’s Death ...... ‘I’m Trying to Live Through Her’

(By Nathan Brown)

https://archive.ph/CHsRr#selection-477.0-493.28

o

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


Ward has decided to continue playing ..... and I'm not surprised.

Some may wonder why Ward, whose $100 Million in career earnings (in addition to the pension that he has coming top him someday) will likely give him financial security for life, would continue to play such a violent game when he has already won a Super Bowl title, been an All-Pro, and has a solid legacy secured would risk his health to continue playing. While the risk-reward of continuing to play professional football doesn't seem worth it to most people, it reminds me of something that my Uncle Jimmy told me when Billy Conn was asked why he went for the KO of heavyweight champion Joe Louis when he led comfortably on all of the judges' scorecards and was assured of a victory if he simply survived the last 3 rounds of the fight.

Billy Conn was a great, 169-pounbd boxer who was the light-heavyweight champion of the world. Joe Louis was a 205-pound brutal puncher who reigned as the heavyweight champion of the world for a record 12 years (1937 through 1949.) When Conn challenged Louis for his heavyweight title, he was thoroughly outboxing the legend for the first 12 rounds of their 15-round fight. In the 13th round, Conn inexplicably went for the knockout, and chose to go toe-to-toe with Louis. Late in the round, Louis caught up with Conn and put him down for the count to just barely retain his world championship. Several days after the fight, Conn explained why he went for the KO when he had the title and immortality in the cusp of his hands. He said, l "I got here by being an Irish tough guy from Pittsburgh. I ALWAYS went for the knockout under any and all circumstances, and that's how I got where I was, challenging Joe Louis for the most prestigious world championship in all of sports. I wouldn't be here in the first place if I was the kind of guy who would play it safe in the second place ...... so the reason why I went for the knockout instead of taking the easy win is because that's who I am, and that's what I do."


Similarly, in my rat's ass of an opinion, the reason why Charvarius Ward is choosing to continue playing professional football in spite of what seems to be the more prudent decision to retire and protect his long-term health is because that is who Charvarius Ward is, and that is what Charvarius Ward does.

o

o


The Colts’ Charvarius Ward Opens up About Daughter’s Death ...... ‘I’m Trying to Live Through Her’

(By James Boyd)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...ughters-death/



INDIANAPOLIS — Charvarius Ward wanted to quit.

Before he suffered three concussions last season. Before he even played a game for the Indianapolis Colts. Before he had a chance to truly grieve.

Ward had recently signed a three-year, $54 Million deal to join the Colts, marking the second massive contract for a cornerback who went undrafted in 2018. It was supposed to be a triumphant moment in an underdog career, but when training camp rolled around in July 2025, Ward’s head wasn’t in it. His heart wasn’t, either.

Less than 9 months removed from the death of his 23-month-old daughter, Amani Joy, Ward thought he’d found some semblance of normalcy, if that was even possible. It wasn’t.

Ward, who contemplated retiring earlier this year, said Wednesday at Colts spring practice that he feels “whole and happy” again after “getting closer to God” this offseason. The work he’s put in to navigate his grief has helped him use his daughter’s death as a source of inspiration more than pain.

That wasn’t possible last year.

“I tried to tough it out, man,” Ward said Wednesday. “Mentally and emotionally …... it had gotten really hard for me in training camp. I had some rough moments in camp. I was having those thoughts like, ‘Man, I don’t know if I can do it.'”

Amani Joy died due to heart issues in October of 2024, when Ward was still a member of the San Francisco 49ers. After signing with the Colts the following offseason, Ward said in his introductory news conference that returning to San Francisco was never really an option in free agency because there was “a lot of PTSD out there.”

He joined the Colts looking for a fresh start, but his 2025 season turned out to be a nightmare on and off the field. Ward, still grieving the loss of his daughter, suffered three concussions in 14 weeks. The scariest one occurred when Ward and Colts tight end Drew Ogletree accidentally collided during pregame warmups last October. Ward, who was not wearing a helmet, got knocked out on the field. He regained consciousness when he was being taken away in a wheelchair and spent the next month “getting dizzy” and vomiting.

Ward played in a career-low seven games last season because of his repeated concussions, and at the end of the season, he made it clear he didn’t need football anymore. He’d already played in three Super Bowls ...... winning it all with the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2019 season ...... been named second-team All-Pro in 2023 and earned $68.8 Million in the NFL, per Spotrac.

“I did everything that I wanted to do,” Ward said in January. “So, I feel like if I walk away, I won’t regret it.”

A few lifestyle changes, however, have rekindled Ward’s desire to dominate on the gridiron. He’s talked to professional therapists and hired a mental health coach to help him better process the unfillable void left by his daughter.

“I kind of want to play for my daughter, too,” Ward said. “It’s kind of been like a real sore subject for me ever since it happened. Every time I thought about it, I got sad. But now, I think about her, I have a lot of good memories about her ...… the man that she made me. She always put a smile on my face. So I’m trying to live through her in my life in general, not just football.”

Ward also moved his fiancee, Monique Cook, and their 17-month-old son, Charvarius Ward Jr., to Indianapolis so they can all be together for his 2nd season with the Colts. Last year, Cook and their son stayed in Dallas near the rest of their family. Ward believes that was a mistake, leaving him feeling isolated, and he’s thrilled to spend more time with those he loves the most. He specifically credited his son for putting “some light back” into his life as he returns to the field.

On paper, the Colts are poised to have one of the best cornerback tandems in the NFL with Ward and two-time first-team All-Pro Sauce Gardner. The duo played only one full game together after Gardner joined the Colts via trade last season because of Ward’s repeated concussions and Gardner’s calf injury. But Ward, who said he’ll consider wearing a Guardian Cap, is optimistic that his concussion issues are firmly in his rearview mirror.

Amani Joy, of course, can’t be put in the past. She will remain top of mind while Ward fights to regain his All-Pro form.

“Obviously, I want to leave the game in one piece, too, because those concussions, that was kind of crazy last year,” Ward said. “But I want to finish the game as one of the best corners in the game. … I know I can be that, so I’m grinding harder than I ever grinded right now.

“I got the motivation back to be one of the best in the world.”

o