Former Auburn standout Dee Ford looking for new NFL team

Former Auburn standout Dee Ford will be looking for a new NFL team for the 2022 season. After spending the last couple seasons in San Francisco with the 49ers, the pass rusher will be wearing a different uniform moving forward.

“I don’t see a lot of hope with him being a factor for us on the field moving forward,” Lynch said regarding Ford, via NBCSportsBayArea.com. “I think we tried to be as patient as possible, and no fault of Dee, he just ran into a bad situation with his back, where he couldn’t get healthy.”

Unfortunately, the lingering back injury Ford is dealing with is stopping the 49ers from committing to the former Auburn standout. Originally, Ford was traded from the Kansas City Chiefs to San Francisco, who signed him to a huge extension at the time. However, it seems like his time is coming to an unceremonious end with the franchise.

Over the course of his eight year NFL career, Ford has accumulated 159 total tackles, 40.0 sacks and 12 forced fumbles. During five seasons with the Chiefs, the former Auburn standout totaled 137 total tackles, 30.5 sacks and nine forced fumbles. While with San Francisco, his numbers dipped — amassing just 22 total tackles and 9.5 sacks over three seasons with the 49ers.

As you can see, the 49ers expected more out of Dee Ford when they gave him a five-year, $87.5M contract. Now, both sides will be moving in different directions next season.

More on Dee Ford, NFL future

Moreover, Dee Ford suffered the aforementioned back injury last October, and was expected to return for the team’s stretch run. However, he was shut down as December rolled around, as the team wasn’t happy with his recovery progress.

Now, the team doesn’t believe Ford will be able to regain his ability for the 2022 season. So much so, that San Francisco will be cutting the former Auburn standout, instead of giving him another chance.

Moving forward, Dee Ford will have to prove he’s healthy enough to return to an NFL field. Time will tell if an NFL tea takes a shot on the former Auburn star in the future, or if this is the end of the road for Ford.