Kansas City Chiefs: What should the Chiefs do with Dee Ford?
By John McCarty
With the number of contracts coming due and financial restraint required, what should the Kansas City Chiefs do with pass rusher Dee Ford?
The Kansas City Chiefs have a number of players after this season with expiring contracts. By my unofficial count, 23 members of the 53-man roster are contractually unemployed past the conclusion of the 2018 season.
Take into account after the 2019 season, Tyreek Hill, Chris Jones and Kendall Fuller join the list of players in need of a new deal. Also, and I’m sure this won’t be an issue, but Patrick Mahomes is eligible for a new contract after the 2019 season.
So, what does one do with Dee Ford? My opinion is, you franchise tag him after this season (I hate the franchise tag, but this is one the few situations it makes sense) and let him play the 2019 season out and then he can walk as a free agent.
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This team still has Justin Houston under contract, not to mention the growth of rookie Breeland Speaks and second-year man Tanoah Kpassagnon is still on the roster (looks to check, yep, still there).
Look, Dee Ford is having a really good season and would be better had the zebras in Cleveland not got overexcited with his burst off the line penalizing him for offsides. However, and this has to be a major part of the narrative, Ford has been injured a lot. He has missed games with injuries and a lot of them at that.
In what is now his fifth season, Ford has started a combined 34 games. He missed ten games in 2017 with a back injury, which is basically the sole reason he’s a Chief today, as when a player after their fourth season fails their end of season physical, it automatically guarantees their fifth year option.
Had he passed, there is a good chance he’s not brought back to save against the cap. Funny how things work out. He’s only participated in a full 16 game season once, which was his rookie season in which he didn’t start a single game.