Chiefs Trade Dee Ford to 49ers

Dee Ford Traded

With rumors flying around that the Chiefs could ship Dee Ford, a trade finally commenced. Kansas City has agreed to send the pass rusher to the San Francisco 49ers for a second round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Because Ford was franchise tagged by the Chiefs, he and his new team were expected to complete a new deal for the trade to be completed. The 49ers agreed to give Ford a 5-year extension for $87.5 million

Cap Savings

As a result of this trade, the Chiefs now have an extra $15.4 million freed up in cap space by trading Ford. By releasing another pass rusher in Justin Houston as well, the Chiefs have cleared roughly $30 million in cap space. Now obviously they have needs at pass rusher now, but it shows that the Chiefs new defensive regime led by Steve Spagnuolo is ready to get the guys they see fit in there right away. It also shows that this team is not scared of taking massive risks for bigger rewards.

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What will this increase in cap space do for the Chiefs now? Will Eric Berry also still be on the team, or will he be another veteran to be cut? Those questions will hopefully result in answers soon, but right now the Chiefs are vastly changing their defensive look in the first few days of the free agency.

My Take

Based on his injury history, I don’t the Chiefs were ever comfortable giving Ford the money of a long term deal. He got himself healthy for 2018 and had his best season. Now the Chiefs do have an obvious hole at pass rusher now. But if the Chiefs were comfortable with moving on from both Ford and Houston this offseason, then there is a blueprint that general manager Brett Veach has I just can’t predict right now.

Perhaps with this EDGE draft class being the best in a long time, Kansas City may want to use a combination of this year’s first rounder and couple second rounders to move up in Round 1 to grab an elite EDGE rusher in this draft? Or they could use this extra cap space to sign a cornerback like Ronald Darby. Veach has been getting the team younger, and Darby is only 25. They can easily sign another free agent.

Moving Forward

But overall, I think the Chiefs were never truly committed to Ford in the defensive scheme change. If they were comfortable enough to move him for a draft pick that is not even in this year’s draft, then they believe anything that was brought back in return was going to make them better in more than just 2019. They are trying to win now, but more importantly, the Chiefs plan is to build their core wisely. You can’t assume thhat Kansas City is done adding pieces. We just don’t know what they are yet.

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– Braden Holecek is a Kansas City Chiefs writer for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9 Follow @FPC_Chiefs and Facebook.

– Kyle Senra is the editor for the Kansas City Chiefs on Full Press Coverage. Like and follow on Follow @nyama_ks Follow @FPC_NFL and Facebook.