Why the Kansas City Chiefs need to pick up Dee Ford’s contract option
By Matt Conner
By picking up the fifth-year option on Ford’s rookie contract, the Chiefs would be required to pay him the average of what the 3rd through 25th highest-paid linebackers make in the NFL. Last year, the sum for paying linebackers was $8,369,000. Given that Ford’s initial four-year deal was only $8.15 million over the life of the entire deal, Ford is suddenly becoming a fairly expensive asset moving forward.
The good news for the Chiefs is that this total amount — what will undoubtedly run north of $8.3 million — is only guaranteed for injury for now (and only becomes guaranteed on the beginning of that league year). This means the Chiefs can take their time between now and next March to decide whether they really want to keep Ford at that price or let him walk as a free agent.
If Ford continues to develop — and he’s been working with Von Miller’s pass rushing coach this offseason — then it could give the Chiefs another strong pass rusher at a tolerable number, and give both sides an incentive to work on a long-term deal. If Ford fails to blossom any further, then the Chiefs have a way out before having to fork over such a large amount of money.
The reality is that Ford looked much better last season than he did in 2015, and the previous season was a considerable leap from his rookie year. There’s every indication to believe that Ford will grow into a dependable pass rushing force, even if he might not even turn the corner to be the next Tamba Hali or Justin Houston. The reality is that he’s worth the money even if he simply remains a legitimate pass rusher for whom offensive coordinators must account.