Indianapolis Colts Anthony Richardson Charvarius Ward Daniel Jones Shane Steichen Minnesota Vikings San Francisco NFL Sports NFL football Amani Joy Sports transactions Chris Ballard California Football Camryn Bynum
# Colts add to secondary with deals with Charvarius Ward, Camryn Bynum, AP sources say

By Michael Marot  
March 10th, 2025 07:15 PM

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cornerback Charvarius Ward wanted a fresh start after the most difficult football season of his life.

The Indianapolis Colts are giving him that chance.

Ward agreed to a contract that guarantees he'll make at least $35 million with the potential of reaching $60 million, according to two people with knowledge of the deal. The people spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because deals can't be announced until Wednesday.

Ward had a difficult final season in San Francisco and was looking to get away from the painful memories from California. Ward's 1-year-old daughter, Amani Joy, died in October. She had been born prematurely with Down syndrome and had open-heart surgery in April 2023.

"I've got a lot of trauma in California," Ward said the day after the season ended. "I've had a lot of great times, but the worst thing that's ever happened to me — that's probably ever going to happen to me — happened in California. It just brings back bad memories."

Ward missed the next three games and his family stayed at his offseason home in Dallas for the rest of the season, prompting Ward to acknowledge he wanted to leave the Bay Area when he became a free agent.

What the Colts are getting is one of the market's top cornerbacks, someone with 10 career interceptions including five during his 2023 second-team All-Pro season. He didn't have any interceptions in 2024.

The Colts, meanwhile, broke away from their usual free agency mode.

General manager Chris Ballard typically has been cautious of making splashy signings, preferring instead to spend the big money on re-signing his own free agents. But after missing the playoffs again last season and nearly losing his job, Ballard promised this time would be different.

So far, it has been.

Before adding Ward, the Colts addressed another glaring need in the secondary by signing former Minnesota Vikings safety Camryn Bynum to a four-year deal worth $60 million, a person with knowledge of that deal also confirmed.

The combination of Ward and Bynum gives what had been a young, struggling secondary over the past two seasons experience, physicality and playmaking ability.

Ward picked off 10 passes in seven seasons with Kansas City and San Francisco. Bynum had a career-best three interceptions last season with Minnesota and has two or more in three straight seasons.

And Indy may only be getting started.

Ballard told reporters during the league's annual scouting combine that incumbent starting quarterback Anthony Richardson would face an open competition to retain his job and that the Colts intended to add a quarterback who could beat out Richardson, the fourth overall selection in the 2023 draft.

Richardson has struggled with injuries and accuracy throughout his first two seasons, and Ballard and coach Shane Steichen insist they still believe Richardson can get the job done.

Still, they are rumored to be interested in former New York Giants starter Daniel Jones, who finished last season as a backup in Minnesota.

"It's got to be the right guy to create real competition," Ballard said two weeks ago. "I think it's good for the team, I think it's good for Anthony. Look, we drafted Anthony high, knowing it was going to take some time and we knew there was going to be some hiccups along the way."

And now that they have apparently taken care of the biggest needs by adding Ward and Bynum, they can start focusing on who to add at quarterback.

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AP Pro Football Writers Rob Maaddi and Josh Dubow also contributed to this report.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL