Kansas City Chiefs Trade Linebacker Dee Ford To The San Francisco 49ers

By: Jordan Long

The Kansas City Chiefs’ defense took a hit in free agency.  They let linebacker Justin Houston test free agency.  He played a large part in helping the defense blitz the quarterbacks.  Now they traded linebacker Dee Ford to the San Francisco 49ers.

                Ford is going to be entering his 6^th NFL season.  The previous 5 were with the Kansas City Chiefs.   Ford made a name for himself by rushing the quarterback.  Opposing quarterbacks had to know where he was lined up on every play.  He would use his speed to run around the offensive linemen to take down the quarterback for sacks which could change field position.  Ford ended with 30.5 sacks for Kansas City.

                Besides sacking the quarterback, he was able to knock the ball out of a quarterback or runners hands for fumbles.  Ford forced 9 fumbles but didn’t recover any of them.  His teammates instead would land on them, giving the Kansas City offense a chance to put more points on the scoreboard.

                Kansas City decided it was time to move on from Ford.  They placed the franchise tag on him knowing they were going to find a trade partner.   Ford was one of their most productive linebackers.  They made a trade with the San Francisco 49ers.  The 49ers sent a 2020 2^nd-round-pick in exchange for Ford assuming a new deal was going to get done.  The 49ers agreed to a 5-year, $87.5 million contract with Ford.

                According to ESPN, Ford said, “I feel appreciated. Me knowing they believe in me … talking to the GM, talking to the owner, talking to the head coach … they couldn’t wait [for me to get there].”

                This is a smart deal for the 49ers.  They are improved on defense.  Ford is going to be able to sack the quarterback.  Those sacks might be the difference in field position for the San Francisco offense.  Ford will also force fumbles which could end up with the 49ers defense recovering them giving decent field position for the offense to put more points on the scoreboard.

                For the Kansas City Chiefs this trade doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.  Ford was one of their top linebackers. They may not be able to match his production.  Kansas City might sign a linebacker in free agency or select one in the NFL Draft, but that player may not put up the numbers Ford did, especially when it comes to taking down the quarterback.  Kansas City will take a step back on defense in 2019.   00000000