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It’s nearly three years to the day that the Kansas City Chiefs agreed to send former first-round draft pick, LB Dee Ford, to the San Francisco 49ers in trade.
Ford was on the franchise tag in Kansas City, but the team intended to trade him with their switch to Steve Spagnuolo’s 4-3 scheme. After trading Ford to the 49ers, he was signed to a five-year contract extension worth over $85 million. Now that contract handed out by San Francisco is largely viewed among the worst in the NFL.
The big problem with Ford hasn’t been his production. In 2019, he appeared in just 11 regular-season games with two starts, but he recorded 6.5 sacks and 27 pressures in that span. Those aren’t exactly bad numbers, but he couldn’t replicate them in 2020. That’s because he ended up on injured reserve with neck and back injuries after just a single game. In total, Ford has played in 15-of-35 possible combined regular-season and postseason games for San Francisco. Simply put, his availability has been the big issue.
Right now, Ford carries the second-largest cap hit on the 49ers behind QB Jimmy Garapolo, with over $20 million due for the 2021 NFL season. The worst part is that San Francisco doesn’t know if he’ll be ready to play in 2021. They also might not be able to move on from Ford due to injury guarantees in his contract. He’d need to pass a physical before those guarantees kick in and that seems unlikely at this point.
Looking back on this trade and the ensuing contract by the 49ers, it’s a reminder to the Chiefs that sometimes the best moves made in free agency are the ones that you have the foresight not to make. Had the Chiefs kept Ford on the franchise tag and signed him to an extension, things could be looking much different in Kansas City.
It certainly makes you feel better about Frank Clark, who has battled through injury and illness to play in 35-of-37 possible combined regular-season and postseason games. Since joining the Chiefs in 2019, he’s even broken the franchise record for postseason sacks. I think Kansas City can say with certainty that they made the better decision of the two teams.
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