Much has been made about the pending return of pass rusher Dee Ford to the San Francisco 49ers, and what he might bring to the field should he ever find his way back onto it with regularity.
But one NFL analyst thinks the Niners should take a different approach — trade Ford away now and leave those nagging questions, not to mention nagging injuries, to another team.
Brad Gagnon, of Bleacher Report, published a trade proposal on Monday, Aug. 23 that asserted moving the former Pro Bowl pass rusher makes more sense for the Niners than any plan that involves keeping him. The crux of Gagnon’s argument is that the oft-injured Ford is a superfluous piece on an already stellar defense, declaring it is time for San Francisco to make the prudent financial decision.
“The 49ers have Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead on the edge, and plenty of elite talent surrounding them,” Gagnon wrote. “They don’t need Ford, and they can save $4 million by cutting their losses with a trade right now.”
“So they should join the (Denver) Broncos and possibly the (Buffalo) Bills in linking up with the (Minnesota) Vikings, who probably don’t want to enter the season with just a post-injury Danielle Hunter and the uninspiring Stephen Weatherly leading the pass rush,” he continued.
Ford Never Contemplated Failure in Attempts to Return
GettyDee Ford, of the San Francisco 49ers.
San Francisco traded for Ford in 2019, the year after the pass rusher made his lone Pro Bowl as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. Ever since then, staying on the field has proven a challenge.
Ford played in 11 games for the Niners during his first season in the Bay Area, starting just two of those. He appeared in only one game for the team last year, sidelined following Week 1 with neck and back injuries.
His return has been a question mark in San Francisco ever since. There was even outside speculation that Ford might simply choose to hang em’ up after seven seasons in the NFL. The defensive frontman scoffed at the notion when asked about it during a recent media session.
“Hell no,” Ford responded bluntly to the question of whether he had considered retirement. “I put in too much work. I haven’t put my best ball on tape yet. This is my life. This is what I do.”
“Initially, it was four to five weeks, but then that turned into 10 weeks, then that turned into 15,” he continued. “As things progressed, we just kind of found out this thing was going to take a little longer than we expected. But we got it done.”
Niners Brass has Grown More Optimistic on Ford Over Time
GETTYSan Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch.
Niners general manager John Lynch spoke to Ford’s injury, and his subsequent progress, a handful of times since San Francisco’s season ended. His comments began tempered, uncertain and non-committal, but have improved every time he has stepped to the podium.
“I didn’t know what to think,” Lynch told KNBR’s Murph & Mac show on Aug. 13. “I mean, it’s been a while with Dee, and that was kind of a moving target, the stuff he was dealing with last year. He had confidence that he’d be back. It was hard for us to have that same confidence because you just didn’t know.”
“We’ve been very encouraged. He’s been out there. We’re trying to be very judicious on how we bring him back,” Lynch continued. “But he’s been super impactful when he’s been out there, and that’s always been the case with Dee, so we’ve just got to get him there.”
While Ford has been a regular fixture at Niners offseason workouts in recent days, he did not participate in the team’s first preseason game against the Chiefs or their second contest against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday.
Should Ford remain sidelined until San Francisco’s Week 1 matchup with the Lions in Detroit on Sept. 12, it will be one day shy of a year exactly since the pass rusher played an official snap on an NFL field.
B/R Trade Proposal Sends Star Niners Pass Rusher to Vikings