Charvarius Ward was outstanding for the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.
He led the NFL in pass breakups (23) and had five interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, establishing himself as a lockdown defender on the outside.
To this point, however, 2024 has been a different story, with opposing offenses having success in attacking Ward, which they have been willing to do regularly.
Ward gave up three catches for 67 yards in Week 5 as the 49ers let slip a 13-point lead in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
He subsequently appeared on the injury report for the 49ers' Week 6 game with the Seattle Seahawks and, after being listed as questionable, did not feature as San Francisco claimed a 36-24 victory in Seattle.
Despite the 49ers' road win, it has proved to be a painful week for Ward. It was confirmed by the NFL on Saturday that he had been fined $11,255 for unnecessary roughness for grabbing a facemask late in the third quarter of the loss to the Cardinals.
The incident occurred on a seven-yard pass from Kyler Murray to Greg Dortch with 1:33 left in the second quarter.
Painfully for Ward, he has not actually flagged for the foul during the game, meaning the NFL has retrospectively deemed that he should have been penalised and fined him anyway.
It is not a huge fine, but it's more unwelcome news for Ward amid an unexpectedly tough start to the season. With a mini bye week with which to shake off his injury, Ward will hope he can wipe the slate clean and get his season back on track next week when the 49ers host the Kansas City Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch in Week 7.
