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49ers CB Charvarius Ward on the Absence of Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams

"Everyone knows Trent is a captain, a Hall of Famer, the big dog of the team. Damn near everybody is scared of him. We miss him a little bit."

Grant Cohn

Feb 7, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward (7) during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 7, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward (7) during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
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SANTA CLARA -- Charvarius Ward was asked in the 49ers locker room about the absence of Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams. Here's what Ward said.

Q: I assume you guys would like to have Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams ready to go Week 1.

WARD: "Yeah."

Q: What is the feeling with them up in the air and you don't know if they're going to be here or not?

WARD: "The feeling is next man up. We definitely want to have those guys here. I know they feel like they're deserving of something more, but we just have to roll with the punches. And whoever's here, they just have to step up and ball out. It's going to be hard to replace those guys, but it's got to be a team effort."

Q: There was a similar situation last year with Nick Bosa's hold out. Does this one feel any different?

WARD: "It's been like that the past couple years with Deebo (Samuel) and Bosa. But we still came in and had great years -- NFC Championship Game, could have been the Super Bowl if Brock (Purdy) didn't get hurt and then the Super Bowl last year. I think John (Lynch) and Kyle (Shanahan) and the owners know what they're doing. Hopefully, they get it resolved soon and we can get this season pushing and have a great year."

Q: Do you feel any mood differences in the locker room now as compared to before?

WARD: "Since they're not here?"

Q: Yes.

WARD: "They bring a lot of energy, a lot of juice, a lot of talent. Everyone knows Trent is a captain, a Hall of Famer, the big dog of the team. Damn near everybody is scared of him. We miss him a little bit, but like I said, somebody has to step up to be a captain to replace what's missing with those guys not here."

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Grant Cohn

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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