Somewhat buried in the news cycle amongst the free agent and trade market frenzy of NFL juggernauts Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, Nick Foles, and Earl Thomas, the Kansas City Chiefs have quietly been shopping productive pass-rusher Dee Ford since franchise-tagging him a few short days ago. Additionally, the desired compensation is relatively modest for a player coming off a 13-sack season.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the reigning AFC West champion Chiefs are looking to fetch just a second-rounder for the young edge rusher’s services. Coincidentally, the Eagles happen to have two such picks in the upcoming draft, and an opening in their defensive end rotation after trading Michael Bennett to the Patriots earlier this week. Replacing Bennett- who finished second on the team in sacks with nine last season- is no small order, but Dee Ford certainly fits the bill as a viable successor.
Disgruntled after being labeled by the Chiefs as a linebacker in favor of his primary position at defensive end during the franchise tag process- costing him roughly $2M- Ford isn’t exactly in a hurry to return Arrowhead under his current pact.
Enter Eagles.
No stranger to the trade market, Eagles GM Howie Roseman can once again pull off his patented move of acquiring a discontent, talented player and putting them in a much better situation in Philadelphia- both on-field and financially. Ford simply wants to be compensated fairly for his impressive efforts on the field, and has yet to formally demand an inflated record-shattering contract of any kind. If there is one front office executive that could manipulate the cap to squeeze another Pro Bowl talent on the roster, it’s Howie Roseman.
Roseman has worked tirelessly this offseason, clearing roughly $20M in cap space so far, and presumably fully intends on spending big this spring. Trading for and subsequently extending Dee Ford to lower his cap hit over the next several seasons would be another stroke of genius for the cap wizard Roseman.
Ford, 27, is still young enough to lead the defensive end rotation alongside Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett for years to come. What’s more, his impact on the field could even be seismic enough to transform the Birds from underdogs to Super Bowl favorites heading into next season. The financial aspect may be a bit tricky to get sorted, even for Roseman, but flipping one of two 2019 second-rounders for this type of talent is a move I think is at least worth kicking the tires on.
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
