With the San Francisco 49ers expected to cut defensive end Dee Ford in the coming weeks, some are asking whether the Kansas City Chiefs should sign him.
Remember Dee Ford? I’ll give you a minute to process whatever emotion that name just triggered.
Yes, that Dee Ford who was most famously drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Oh, who am I kidding? That’s not why he’s famous—or rather infamous—and we all know it. I won’t bother paining you with that one play that ruined the Chief’s shot at playing in three straight Super Bowls.
According to some rumors, Ford is likely to be cut from the San Francisco 49ers in the coming weeks which has led to some questions as to whether or not the Chiefs front office should consider a reunion.
DE Dee Ford is reportedly going to be cut by the #49ers in the coming weeks.
— Devon Clements (@DevclemNFL) May 24, 2022
31 years old and has only played 7 games over the last two seasons, which means he could be cheap for the next team that wants him.
Should the #Chiefs try to get him?
The easy answer should be ‘no’. The Chiefs traded Ford to the Niners right after that fateful AFC game, and have pretty much come away looking like the bona fide winner of that trade. In his tweet, Devon Clements points out part of the reason why: Just like he was with the Chiefs, Dee Ford is extremely injury prone. He was even more injury prone with San Fran, and in the last two years has only played 7 games.
On the other end of that trade, the Chiefs got a second round pick, which they went on to use to draft Willie Gay Jr. who is now one of their stud linebackers.
The only upside I can see of a Ford reunion is that he would come extremely cheap, and the Chiefs do need some pass rushers pretty desperately. I’d still try rather them try and bring back Justin Houston, but that’s probably unlikely given how his tenure with the team ended.
Even if Ford was signed for a reasonable price, and somehow stayed healthy enough to make the reunion worth it, it’s hard to imagine he return going over well with most of Chiefs Kingdom. The offsides penalty is just too much for most of us to overcome. Imagine the first time Ford were to get another offsides penalty? The boos would never end.
Some player and team reunions can be spectacular. But I just don’t think a Chiefs-Ford reunion would be. My first reaction when I saw Devon’s tweet was ‘Ew, no Dee Ford.’ I have a feeling a lot of Chiefs Kingdom probably felt the same way.