Dee Ford - Pro Football Rumors

Contract Re-Workings: Bucs, Evans, 49ers, Ford, Steelers, DeCastro, Seahawks, Moore

September 5th, 2020 at 11:43am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

On this busy Saturday morning we’ve got a few contract re-workings to pass along. A few teams, all franchises hoping to compete for a championship this year, are freeing up some cap space, possibly to pursue some of the veterans left on the market:

Mike Evans, WR (Buccaneers): Tampa freed up $9.5MM by converting some of Evans’ salary into a signing bonus, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Bucs are loading up for their potential Tom Brady title run, having just signed Leonard Fournette earlier this week, and it’s possible they aren’t done yet. Evans is under contract through the 2023 season.
Dee Ford, DE (49ers): San Francisco also created $9.5MM in space by doing the same thing with Ford, Yates notes in the same tweet. Ford was a disappointment in his first year with the 49ers in 2019 as he battled various health issues that limited him to 11 games, and the organization reportedly shopped him before the draft. He’s signed through the 2023 season as well, although there are outs earlier. He’s also reportedly dealing with a relatively minor calf issue at the moment.
David DeCastro, OL (Steelers): Pittsburgh created $3.85MM with the signing bonus trick with DeCastro, Yates notes. The veteran guard has two years left on his five-year, $50MM pact.
David Moore, WR (Seahawks): Moore has reworked his deal to stay in Seattle, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. This one sounds like more of a pay cut in order to keep his roster spot rather than the vets above who just had salary converted to signing bonuses. Rapoport notes that Moore had been set to make $2.13MM under his RFA tender, and he presumably took less than that to make the 53. He had 17 receptions for 301 yards and two touchdowns last year.

49ers Rumors: Reed, Bosa, Ford, Juszczyk

September 2nd, 2020 at 3:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the NFL’s most injury-prone players, Jordan Reed considered retirement after missing all of the 2019 season. The ex-Washington tight end dealt with another concussion last year, adding to a lengthy list of head injuries for the former Pro Bowler. But he signed with the 49ers this summer and is set to back up George Kittle.

“I definitely thought about hanging it up after last season,” Reed said, via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch. “But it was when I watched the Super Bowl is what really ignited me again. I want to play in those big games. … Before I made my decision, I saw some professionals. And I did my rehab. All the tests were clear. I’m healthy and I’m good to go.”

Following last season, Reed has missed 25 NFL games because of concussions. He also suffered at least one in each of his three Florida seasons. The 30-year-old playmaker signed a one-year deal worth the veteran minimum ($1.05MM for an eighth-year player).

Here is the latest out of San Francisco:

Both Nick Bosa and Dee Ford are currently sidelined with injuries. Bosa is dealing with a strained muscle, while Ford is battling a calf malady. However, Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday he would be “very surprised” if his high-end edge rushers were unavailable for Week 1, via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner (on Twitter). Bosa dealt with a high ankle sprain during the 49ers’ 2019 training camp but played every game last season. Ford ran into knee and foot trouble and was limited to a part-time role.
Kyle Juszczyk is also on the shelf for the 49ers. The acclaimed fullback suffered a hamstring strain, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. The 49ers, however, expect him to be ready by the time they face the Cardinals in Week 1.
During a late-summer wide receiver shuffle, the 49ers placed J.J. Nelson on IR and cut Jaron Brown. Kevin White and Tavon Austin remain on the roster, and the latter has performed well during camp, Branch notes. A former top-10 pick who turned 30 this year, Austin has not met expectations as a pro. But he’s played seven NFL seasons and, despite being listed as a wideout, has 10 rushing TDs in his career. San Francisco remains down Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk as well, complicating its receiver depth chart. Injuries will certainly play a key part in how the 49ers’ receiver group looks after Saturday’s roster cutdown.
Despite White and Austin being vested veterans, each would be eligible for a practice squad spot. Due to the pandemic, teams can use up to six of their 16 P-squad slots on veterans with any amount of NFL experience this year. Shanahan is interested in taking advantage of this one-time-only luxury. “I love the fact that they’ll let us have vets on it,” the fourth-year 49ers coach said (via Maiocco). “I understand that some players won’t want to do that, but we’ll do our best to tell them why we think it’s a good opportunity for them.” Vested vets are slated to earn $12K per week on the taxi squad this season.

49ers DE Nick Bosa To Miss Time

August 25th, 2020 at 5:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Injuries interrupted Nick Bosa‘s final Ohio State year and his first 49ers training camp. The 2019 defensive rookie of the year has run into another health hurdle in his second NFL camp.

The standout San Francisco defensive end underwent an MRI and will miss some time due to a muscle strain, according to the team. The 49ers have tabbed Bosa as week-to-week. It’s a lower-body issue, with Bosa experiencing leg pain this week.

Bosa missed the 2019 preseason because of a high ankle sprain. That came after a core muscle injury ended his junior season and Buckeyes career early. Considering his history, protecting the former No. 2 overall pick certainly makes sense.

Despite missing most of the 49ers’ 2019 camp, Bosa became one of the league’s best defensive players last season. He played in all 19 49er games and played perhaps the lead role in the team assembling the No. 2 DVOA defense.

The 49ers are also down Dee Ford for the time being. The seventh-year pass rusher is dealing with a calf malady, though the team has labeled its older defensive end as day-to-day. Unlike Bosa, Ford was not able to shake off his preseason injury issues last year. Ford either played hurt or missed time last season, with hamstring and knee issues limiting him to a part-time role. Ford underwent knee surgery this offseason.

NFC West Notes: Ford, Clowney, Collier

May 29th, 2020 at 6:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dee Ford played a key part of the 49ers‘ dramatic pass rush improvement last season, but the former Chiefs edge defender spent the season battling injuries. The 49ers did not use Ford last season nearly as much as the Chiefs did in 2018, with Ford’s knee and hamstring troubles contributing to his sporadic deployment. Ford took a step to a healthier 2020 season by undergoing knee surgery this offseason, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Ford described the operation as a “pretty extensive cleanup.”

He underwent the procedure a few weeks after Super Bowl LIV. Ford encountered multiple bouts of knee tendinitis last year, first in training camp and then aggravating the injury while training on artificial surfaces when the 49ers prepped for their Bengals game in Ohio. This preceded his hamstring trouble, but it sounds like Ford’s knee was an issue throughout the season. The 29-year-old defender said he “feels great” months later.

“I’m able to actually explode off of this knee,” said Ford, who finished with 6.5 sacks last season. “Thinking back on it, I can’t believe I played a whole season on it. And we knew at the end of the day what we had to do — (it) had to be surgical. But I didn’t want to miss the season. We had too much going on. I didn’t want to miss that. It’s in the bag now. I’m confident in that.”

Here is the latest from the NFC West, shifting to some Seahawks defensive line matters:

Although he has most recently been connected to the Browns and Titans, Jadeveon Clowney remains on the Seahawks‘ radar. Clowney’s most recent team remains interested in a reunion, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes. But, as has been the case throughout, the Seahawks appear to be hoping Clowney will drop his asking price. Clowney already did so earlier this offseason, but based on his 2 1/2-month free agency stay, the former No. 1 overall pick appears to still be asking for more than teams are willing to pay.
L.J. Collier did not accomplish much on the field during his rookie season, playing only 152 defensive snaps and making just three tackles. Collier, however, suffered a high ankle sprain in the preseason and said he may have rushed back from the injury. The TCU product is healthy now as training camp approaches (Twitter links via Condotta). The Seahawks plan to give Collier a shot to play a Michael Bennett-type role in their defense. Collier is slated to work at both defensive end and D-tackle, Condotta adds (on Twitter).
The Cardinals have not made a strong effort to lock up Patrick Peterson on another extension, but the contract-year cornerback said he still wants to play his entire career in Arizona.
Conversely, Rams No. 1 corner Jalen Ramsey received a strong endorsement from his head coach about both his future with the Rams and ability to reset his position’s market.

John Lynch On Draft, Trades, Staley

April 20th, 2020 at 8:30pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

With the draft approaching, 49ers general manager John Lynch conducted a teleconference with the local media Monday where he revealed several interesting nuggets. When asked about a report from earlier today that he was shopping veterans Kwon Alexander, Dee Ford, Jaquiski Tartt, and Marquise Goodwin, Lynch denied the first three but acknowledged the fourth.

“Marquise is the one guy out of that group that you mentioned where there’s active discussions going on,” Lynch said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. “The other guys, we love and are really looking forward to playing with moving forward.” It hasn’t been any secret they’ve been looking to trade Goodwin, and we heard last month they’d likely have to end up cutting him. However Lynch claimed there has been legit interest, saying a Goodwin deal “came close a couple of times” this offseason. Goodwin had a career year with San Francisco in 2017 with 962 yards, but injuries sapped his effectiveness and in 2019 he had only 186.

Also late last month we heard longtime left tackle Joe Staley wasn’t necessarily committed to playing in 2020, although Lynch assuaged some of those fears. “We’ve heard nothing that would lead us to believe that Joe is not going to play. So we’re encouraged with that. We’ll see where that goes,” he said. While that still is far from ironclad, it looks like Staley returning for a 14th season is a good bet.

The 49ers hold the 13th and 31st picks in the draft, and there has been speculation they’ll look to trade down since they currently don’t have any selections in the second, third, or fourth-rounds. Lynch confirmed he has talked to teams about potentially trading both picks, per a Maiocco tweet.

However, he said he’d stand pat at 13 if the team could land a “difference maker.” Lynch said that he and head coach Kyle Shanahan have so far identified six players they’d draft with the 13th pick before opting to trade down, Matt Barrows of The Athletic tweets.

49ers Shopping Dee Ford, Kwon Alexander

April 20th, 2020 at 1:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers are shopping several notable names in advance of the draft, according to Mike Lombardi of The Ringer (on Twitter). Execs around the league tell the former GM that edge rusher Dee Ford, linebacker Kwon Alexander and safety Jaquiski Tartt have all been made available for the right price. Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who was dangled earlier this year, also remains on the block.

The level of interest in those four players isn’t immediately clear, but the Niners are exploring every avenue in advance of the draft. Ford is set to enter his second season with San Francisco, just one year after coming over via trade with Kansas City. He’s in the midst of a five-year, $85MM contract and coming off of an injury-riddled season.

Thanks to knee, quadriceps, and hamstring issues, Ford was limited to just eleven regular season contests. And, when he was on the field, the 49ers had to ease the 29-year-old into action. All in all, he played on just 22% of the defensive snaps.

Alexander, 26 in August, has three seasons left on his four-year, $54MM deal. The off-ball ‘backer is remarkably tough – he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in November and somehow managed to return for the Niners’ playoff run. Alexander also battled a biceps injury that required surgery in February. These maladies emerged after he missed much of the 2018 season with an ACL tear. They will also drop his potential trade value.

The 49ers used rookie Dre Greenlaw for much of the season in Alexander’s place but reinstalled the highly paid outside linebacker in the starting lineup in the playoffs. Greenlaw has three years left on his rookie deal.

San Francisco had initially constructed Alexander’s contract to make it easier for the franchise to move on from him after 2019. But after a November restructure, that becomes more difficult. The 49ers added void years to Alexander’s contract to create cap space. Because of this, Alexander does not become a realistic cut candidate until 2022. But it appears the 49ers are trying to offload the former Buccaneer’s contract on another team and move forward with a younger player at the position.

49ers’ Dee Ford Will Not Need Surgery

February 9th, 2020 at 10:59am CST by Rory Parks

The 49ers acquired edge rusher Dee Ford from the Chiefs last offseason via tag-and-trade and then signed him to a five-year, $85MM contract. When healthy, Ford played reasonably well in 2019, but injuries limited him during his first season in the Bay Area.

The 28-year-old (29 in March) dealt with knee, quad, and hamstring injuries throughout the year, and he ultimately played in just 11 regular season contests. Even when he did suit up, San Francisco sometimes kept him on a pitch count, and he ultimately played in just 22% of the team’s defensive snaps.

Luckily, the 49ers had a great deal of depth along their defensive front, so they could withstand Ford’s absence. But the team doesn’t have a ton of cap space and needs to address the contract situations of defensive linemen DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead, as well as tight end George Kittle. Armstead is reportedly open to playing out the 2020 season under the franchise tag, but San Francisco may need to cut ties with him, and if that happens, Ford will become much more important to the club’s pass rush.

And despite the list of ailments that Ford suffered through, he is not expected to need surgery this offseason, according to GM John Lynch (via Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee). “Not as we know right now,” Lynch said. “We’ll have those conversations. But, I think Dee is in good health right now.”

That could go a long way towards helping Lynch sort out his offseason priorities. If he can reasonably rely on a healthy offseason from Ford, that may allow him to save money on Armstead while addressing arguably more important free agents, like WR Emmanuel Sanders.

Injury Notes: Ingram, 49ers, Thielen, Fuller

January 8th, 2020 at 8:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

With every team booked into divisional-round action having now begun practice, here is the latest from the injury front going into Round 2. We’ll start with a midweek Vikings setback:

Stefon Diggs has missed two Vikings practices because of illness this week, but Mike Zimmer expects him to suit up in San Francisco. However, Adam Thielen suffered an ankle injury at practice and was limited on Wednesday as a result. Thielen was not on Minnesota’s Tuesday injury report. The Pro Bowl wideout missed much of this season with a hamstring injury. He caught seven passes for a game-high 129 yards against the Saints.
The NFL’s other purple-wearing team will likely go into its second-round game with backfield uncertainty. Previously expected to return for the Ravens‘ playoff opener, Mark Ingram has missed both Ravens practices this week. Ingram experienced a setback with his injured calf last week, leading to the Ravens to shut him down for a bit, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). The Ravens are indicating there is a “realistic chance” Ingram plays. Baltimore backup Gus Edwards‘ 5.2 yards per carry ranked third in the NFL this season.
49ers linebacker Kwon Alexander has been cleared for game action, per Rapoport (video link), meaning it’s now Kyle Shanahan‘s call on whether to redeploy the high-priced defender Saturday. The 49ers used their second IR-return spot on Alexander, who is attempting to return from a midseason pectoral tear, but have not activated him yet.
Winding down an oft-injured season, Dee Ford is back at 49ers practice and appears ready to return at a key juncture. The veteran defensive end has dealt with a few maladies, his most recent being a hamstring issue that he aggravated in December. Ford’s gone through limited practices the past two days.
One of the NFL’s most important No. 2 wideouts, Will Fuller is trending in the right direction for the Texans‘ divisional-round rematch in Kansas City. The Texans expect their deep threat to return against the Chiefs, Rapoport tweets. Fuller was limited Wednesday. Deshaun Watson‘s QBR figure is 16 points higher when Fuller is on the field compared to when he’s not. The injury-prone wideout missed six games this season, the latest because of the groin injury he sustained in December.
Among the healthiest of the divisional-round teams, the Packers will have their right tackle back in the mix. Bryan Bulaga suffered a concussion in Week 17 but passed the protocol Wednesday, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com notes. Kenny Clark, however, missed practice with a back injury. The contract-year defensive lineman played all 16 Packer games this season.

Injury Updates: Ingram, Haskins, Murray

December 22nd, 2019 at 9:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Here are the key injuries which we’ve seen some reporting on:

The Ravens officially clinched the top seed in the AFC with their win over the Browns on Sunday, but Baltimore fans were left holding their breath when running back Mark Ingram went down with a calf injury. Head coach John Harbaugh told reporters after the game there’s no structural damage, but a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that Ingram suffered a calf strain (Twitter link). Ingram was wearing a walking boot after a game, via a tweet from Josina Anderson of ESPN. Harbaugh was trying to sound optimistic, but calf strains can linger. Fortunately for Baltimore, he’ll have Week 17 and a first-round bye to rest.
Dwayne Haskins has been getting a lot better recently, so it was unfortunate to see him go down with an ankle injury during the Redskins’ loss to the Giants. Interestingly, Haskins said after the game that he lobbied to return, but owner Dan Snyder personally told him not to go back in, per John Keim of ESPN.com. Normally it’d be unusual for an owner to be consulting directly with a player during a game, but this is the Redskins we’re talking about. Washington is in line for the second overall pick right now, and they could opt to be conservative and sit Haskins in Week 17.
Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, Kyler Murray was also knocked out on Sunday with a hamstring injury. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters after the game he wasn’t sure if Murray would be able to play in Week 17 against the Rams. Murray had a large wrap on his hamstring and if it was bad enough to knock him out immediately he could be up against it to play next week. Brett Hundley, who finished off Arizona’s upset win over the Seahawks, would start next week if he isn’t ready.
One last quarterback update, as Mason Rudolph was sidelined with a shoulder injury shortly after being reinserted for a benched Devlin Hodges. The Steelers’ quarterback situation is an absolute mess right now as they prepare for a must-win game against the Ravens. Hodges came back in for Rudolph, and resumed struggling. Rudolph provided an instant spark after relieving Hodges, so he’ll almost certainly start against Baltimore if he’s healthy. Rudolph was seen leaving the stadium with his arm in a sling, per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).
The Titans can clinch a playoff berth with a Week 17 win over the Texans, and fortunately they’ll be getting a boost to their offense. Running back Derrick Henry was inactive for their loss to the Saints on Sunday, but he is expected to play against Houston, a source told Schefter (Twitter link). Henry has been dealing with a hamstring issue.
The winner of the Week 17 game between the 49ers and Seahawks will determine who wins the NFC West and in turn hosts a playoff game, and both sides are banged up. San Francisco pass-rusher Dee Ford has missed most of the last month with a hamstring injury and he’s not expected to play against Seattle, a source told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. They gave up a second-round pick to land Ford this offseason, then signed him to a massive extension, and he’s been a bit of a disappointment. Fortunately for the 49ers, the Seahawks are dealing with even more significant health issues.

49ers’ Dee Ford To Miss Time

December 9th, 2019 at 4:32pm CST by Zachary Links

Dee Ford can’t seem to stay healthy. On Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that that edge rusher will miss at least three weeks with a hamstring strain.

Ford has been dealing with the hamstring issue, plus other injuries, throughout the year. He returned from a two-game absence on Sunday, only to exit early from the Niners’ high-scoring win over the Saints. This time around, the Niners will be forced to shut him down for the remainder of the regular season, at minimum. The hope is that Ford will be ready to go for the second round of the playoffs.

Ford signed a massive five-year, $85MM deal with his new team after coming over via trade with the Chiefs. Through eleven games this year, he has 6.5 sacks.

Without Ford, the Niners are expected to lean more on Solomon Thomas and Jeremiah Valoaga. They’ll wrap the regular season against the Falcons, Rams, and Seahawks as they look to secure a first-round bye.