5 SF 49ers players who’ll be on notice for 2021 season
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: SF 49ers EDGE Dee Ford
Right now, it’s certainly looking like San Francisco made a mistake sending off a second-round NFL Draft pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 to acquire EDGE Dee Ford, then subsequently signing him to a lucrative five-year, $85 million contract extension shortly after the deal.
Ford appeared in 11 games and registered 6.5 sacks during the SF 49ers’ run up to Super Bowl LIV, but he only played on just 22 percent of defensive snaps after being nagged by various injuries.
In 2020, things got worse. After appearing in the Week 1 season opener, Ford missed the rest of the year with a back injury.
As things stand now, there’s a good chance he’s unavailable for the start of 2021.
Like Jimmy Garoppolo, there’s speculation the Niners could move on from Ford sooner than later in a cap-saving move. Unlike Garoppolo, however, Ford’s injury designation and over $14 million in dead money, if cut before June 1, make it much more difficult. San Francisco can’t simply part ways with him if he’s still injured anyway, so that’s something to monitor.
What could happen instead, though, is the SF 49ers hoping Ford comes back healthy enough to contribute in 2021.
And if he doesn’t deliver on the field, it’s likely this year will be his last in red and gold.