BIOGRAPHY
Dee Ford was born March 19, 1991, in Odenville, Alabama. He is a defensive end in the NFL.
Ford attended St. Clair County High School in Odenville, Alabama. While there, he played high school football. As a senior, Ford recorded 90 tackles, including 38 tackles for loss and 18 sacks, intercepted a pass, and broke up three while being named to the Class 4A All-State team by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. As a junior, he posted 87 total tackles with 16 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks.
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was ranked as the 62nd best outside linebacker prospect in the nation.
Ford attended Auburn University from 2009 to 2013. During his career, he had 19.5 sacks. As a senior in 2013, he was an All-SEC selection.
On January 25, 2014, Ford attended the Reese's Senior Bowl and had an impressive performance after recording two combined tackles, two tackles for a loss, a pass deflection, and sacked Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas twice to help the South defeat the North 20-10. His Senior Bowl performance helped him raise his draft stock. NFL draft experts and analysts projected Ford to be a first or second round. He received an invitation to the NFL combine, but did not perform any physical drills after doctors recommended him sit out after issues stemming from a back injury he suffered in 2011. On March 4, 2014, Ford participated at Auburn's pro day and was able to complete all of the combine and positional drills for team representatives and scouts. All 32 NFL teams had representatives present at Auburn's pro day to scout Ford, Greg Robinson, and ten other prospects. He was ranked the second best defensive end prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com and Sports Illustrated and was ranked the third best defensive end by NFL analyst Mike Mayock.
The Kansas City Chiefs selected Ford in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft.
On May 1, 2017, the Chiefs exercised the fifth-year option on Ford's rookie contract that pays him $8.71 million in 2018. On March 2, 2019, the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Ford.
On March 12, 2019 the Chiefs agreed to a trade that would send Ford to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Ford would sign a five year contract worth $87.5 million after the trade was officially completed on March 13, 2019. On October 3, 2020, Ford was placed on injured reserve with a neck and back injury.
