Charvarius Ward’s NFL career might be coming to an end early.
The 29-year-old defensive back — who’s in the middle of a three-year, $54 million contract with the Colts — told Indianapolis media members this week he’s mulling retirement due to concussions he’s sustained over the course of his eight seasons in the NFL.
“My daddy told me to retire,” Ward said. “But I don’t know. I don’t think I’m going to do it — I just got to see how I feel this offseason.”
#Colts CB Charvarius Ward Sr.:
“If I do come back and play again, if I get one more (concussion), I’ll for sure probably retire. …”
“The more I beat my brain up, the more it’ll affect me as I get older. … I gotta think about my family and kids, too. So, we’ll see. …” pic.twitter.com/SnJXHDDf4c
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) January 5, 2026
Ward has suffered multiple concussions in his career, including three this season.
The first of 2025 happened in the season-opener, and it forced him to miss the Colts’ Week 2 game against the Broncos. The next happened in October, when he collided with a teammate while warming up for Indy’s home matchup with the Cardinals.
The third occurred during Indianapolis’ Dec. 7 game against the Jaguars, just a few weeks after he returned from the previous head injury.
He has not played a down since the latest brain trauma.
“It was crazy just dealing with all those headaches all season,” Ward told reporters on Monday. “It’s a painful, frustrating thing. Hopefully I don’t have to go through that again.”
Ward said if he does ultimately return for a ninth NFL season, he will “for sure probably retire” if he gets another concussion.
“With the brain injuries,” he said, “you don’t really see it ’til you get older sometimes. I’m still a pretty young guy and the more I beat my brain up, the more it’ll affect me as I get older.
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“I mean, I’ve got a lot of life left to live after football. I’ve got to think about my family and kids too. So, we’ll see. I’ve got some decisions to make, for sure.”
Ward has played for the Chiefs, the Niners and Indianapolis during his time in the NFL, and he’s won one Super Bowl and made one Pro Bowl.
He said he anticipated a decision to come relatively soon, but he added if it’s to hang up his spikes, he won’t have any regrets.
“I feel like if I walk away, I feel like I’ll be happy,” he said. “I’ve done won a Super Bowl, played in other Super Bowls, made hella money. I’ve made Pro Bowl, made All-Pro. I did everything I wanted to do.”
