San Francisco 49ers transferring on from former Auburn defender, 1st-round NFL Draft decide
Former Auburn standout Dee Ford will be looking for a new NFL opportunity. San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters this week that the team is moving on from Ford, who has missed significant time due to injury.
“I don’t see a lot of hope with him being a factor for us on the field moving forward,” Lynch said of Ford at the NFL Annual Meeting, per NBC Sports Bay Area. “I think we tried to be as patient as possible, and no fault of Dee, he just ran into a bad situation with his back, where he couldn’t get healthy.”
A 2013 All-SEC selection, Ford went to the Kansas City Chiefs with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He played for the Chiefs through the 2018 season. On March 2, 2019, Kansas City placed the franchise tag on Ford. Less than 2 weeks later, the Chiefs traded Ford to San Francisco. Ford and the Niners then agreed to a 5-year deal worth $87.5 million.
Ford played in 21 games for the 49ers. Over the last 2 seasons, though, he appeared in just 7 games. Ford was placed on injured reserve in 2020 with a neck and back injury, playing in just 1 game. This past season, Ford played in 6 games, landing on IR again in November.
San Francisco has not yet officially parted with Ford.
“We’ll figure that out, exactly what the transaction will be,” Lynch told reporters. “But not enough hope and progress to see him playing for us moving forward.”
Over his professional career, Ford has played in 85 regular-season games, including 43 starts. In the regular season, he has tallied 159 tackles, 40 sacks, 12 forced fumbles and 7 passes defended. He has also played in 8 postseason games (4 starts), logging 17 tackles and 2.5 sacks. In 2018, Ford was selected to the Pro Bowl and led the NFL in forced fumbles with 7.
