Kansas City Chiefs: Four options for Dee Ford this offseason

Option #2: Sign Ford to a Long-Term Contract

Another option would be to sign Ford to a long-term deal this offseason.

Going this route would mean the Chiefs are banking on Ford repeating his 2018 production and hoping his nagging injuries from the past remain there. It would also, most likely, enable the Chiefs to get Ford on a friendlier deal than if they tagged him for 2019 and watch him wreak havoc. That is, after all, what happened with Houston.

But there are three big questions regarding a long-term deal right now: will he fit into Spagnuolo’s 4-3 scheme? Will he repeat his production in the new system? And what would the long-term deal even look like?

As far as the first two questions, that’s tough to say, though it may end up being that Ford becomes more of a third-down pass specialist who never plays in a situation in which he needs to drop back into coverage. If that were the case, would he notch another double-digit sack season?

So what would this type of deal look like?

Spotrac lists Ford as an outside linebacker. According to that same site, in 2019, the top outside linebacker in overall contract is Khalil Mack at $141 million. Von Miller is right behind him with a deal exceeding $114 million, and then there’s Houston’s deal, signed before the 2015 season.

To crack the top five, the Chiefs and Ford would have to agree to a deal worth at least $60 million. The problem with this is that the Chiefs have multiple players aside from Ford who need extensions, so the team must decide how much it prioritizes Ford.