Kansas City Chiefs: Dee Ford performing well in contract year
The Kansas City Chiefs won on Sunday against a good Jacksonville Jaguars team and one of the best defensive performances once again was linebacker Dee Ford, who is showing up big time in a contract season.
When the Kansas City Chiefs made Dee Ford their first round draft pick in 2014, the writing was on the wall as far as Tamba Hali‘s future was concerned. Instead, Ford disappointed greatly as a rookie and Hali was signed to an extension, which he did not live up to.
Ford continued to disappoint through year two and looked like he was a Chiefs draft bust in the making. In 2016, Ford had ten sacks throughout the first half of the season, but vanished in the second half of the year. Still… The ten sack performance was promising.
In his follow-up year to his ten sack season, Ford only started six games due to injury. Injuries and inconsistencies have long plagued Ford’s career, but he’s looking like a star now and it’s probably not a coincidence that Ford’s playing well in a contract year.
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You see, Ford is in year five of his rookie deal (yes, it’s been five years already) and after this year, the Chiefs have to decide if they want to keep Ford around for a few more years or cut him loose. He’s playing well and staying healthy at the perfect time.
While Ford has been great this season (14 tackles, four sacks, and one forced fumble), signing him to a long-term deal scares me. The former first round pick out of Auburn has a lengthy injury history throughout his short time in the league and he’s also been the type of player that disappears from the action after awhile, even when on the field.
The Chiefs pass rush has shown up this year, unlike last year, and Ford hasn’t been the driving force behind all of it, though he does lead the team in sacks with four. Ford could be someone the Chiefs feel like they HAVE to re-sign though due to Allen Bailey‘s contract nearing the end and Justin Houston not living up to his contract.
Speaking of Houston, that’s another reason why keeping Ford would be worrisome. Ford wouldn’t get quite that sum of money, but Houston hasn’t been the same guy since signing that deal. With Ford’s injury history and until this season, average play, is he worth a big chunk of change?
We’re only five games into the year, but Dee Ford is playing himself into a contract. Maybe it won’t be with the Chiefs, but it’ll be somewhere. Will the Chiefs take a gamble and sign him to a long-term deal?