Sports can be an escape from "real life'' for NFL fans and it can work that way for the players themselves as well. But understandably, maybe that hasn't been the case for 49ers defensive back Charvarius Ward and the rest of the San Francisco locker room.
Ward's one-year-old daughter Amani Joy died in October after dealing with extensive heart issues, and in a piece in The Athletic, Ward is speaking candidly about the toll the loss of his beloved daughter has taken on him ... and how it's been a most difficult part of a most difficult year.
“There’s been a dark cloud over us all season,” Ward said.
The 49ers entered 2024 coming off a Super Bowl appearance and harboring hopes of repeating with another trip to an NFC Championship Game and beyond. Instead, after Thursday's loss to the Rams - a game pockmarked by the strange refusal of Ward teammate De'Vondre Campbell to enter the contest (he's since been cut) - the Niners are 6-8 ... and starting to look forward to 2025.
“This will be a good offseason for this team to regroup, refocus and try to rekindle the spark,'' said Ward, who is presently slated to be a free agent after this season. "I don’t know if I’m gonna be back, but I know this team is still gonna be great, with or without me."
