Indianapolis Colts cornerback Charvarius Ward Sr. is ready to move forward after experiencing trauma and tragedy in the last two years.
The 2025 season didn't go at all as Charvarius Ward Sr. planned.
What was supposed to be a new chapter in which he started over with a clean slate nearly caused him to pull the rip cord on his career.
After signing a three-year, $54 million contract to leave the San Francisco 49ers for the Indianapolis Colts, the former All-Pro cornerback spent 10 out of 17 games on the sidelines. Three concussions put Ward on the Injured Reserve list two separate times, including one as a result of a pregame collision that caused him headaches, dizziness, and vomiting for weeks afterward.
However, the concussions and the loneliness of new surroundings only exacerbated the turmoil Ward was going through internally.
Just four and a half months before signing with the Colts, Ward and his fiancée, Monique Cook, lost their one-year-old daughter, Amani Joy, who had dealt with heart issues throughout her young life.
"Yeah, man. I tried to toughen it out, man. I tried to toughen it out, like mentally and emotionally, like I said. I got to the point in training camp where it had got real hard for me at training camp. I had some rough moments in camp," Ward said this week when discussing his mental state in 2025. "I was having those thoughts like, ‘Man, I don't know if I can do it,’ early in training camp.
"Just like my heart was super heavy. My heart was super heavy still with my baby girl. It was bad, but like I said, now I'm smiling. When I think about her, I'm smiling now. I could just do so much in the community, and just for her, I feel like she's always watching over me. She's always with me spiritually. So, I'm in a much better space than I was last year."
While Ward played reasonably well while on the field — his 77.4 coverage grade was the second best of his career, per Pro Football Focus — when the Colts' season ended at 8-9, and without a playoff berth, things were still raw for Ward, who was in a dark place due to his physical and emotional traumas.
He reflected to reporters about the season and said he was considering retirement, adding that he might especially leave the game if he sustained another concussion.
"Mentally, I feel great. Spiritually, I feel great. Been praying, getting closer to God, and everything like that," Ward said this week. "I think part of the reason, me coming back, is I'd be training and I'd be working out with some young boys, and I'd be looking way better than they be looking. So, that let me know like right there, I still got it. I still can play, and I just feel good.
"I’ve just been working on myself, and I didn't want to finish my career like I finished last season, man. It kind of was like a lot of stuff happened out of my control. Emotionally, I wasn't ready like I thought I was going to be ready. So, I'll get my fam out here with me this season, they're going to be close with me this year, and I think that's going to help me out a lot. Like, just being whole and happy, you know what I'm saying? So, that kind of went into it."
Not only is Ward healthy again, but he will have his support system around him, as his family will be in Indiana with him, unlike last year. He has also redefined his relationship with his late daughter and is leaning into his relationship with his son, Charvarius Jr.
"This year I’ll have my son around me, my girl around me, and 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 and I have a lot of good memories about it, like the memories we had together, the man that she made me. She always put a smile on my face, so I'm trying to kind of live through her in my life in general – not just football-wise, just make her happy.
"I've been getting real close to my son now. That boy loves me, like he's my clone. Everywhere I go, he wants to go. So, me and his bond kind of reminded me of me and her bond. So, it's kind of made me kind of whole again."
