49ers general manager John Lynch didn’t leave the door open very wide for defensive end Dee Ford’s return.
Ford, who missed 26 of the 49ers’ last 33 games with a back injury, hasn’t been able to stay on the field since San Francisco traded for him ahead of the 2019 season. They’ve tried riding out his slew of ailments, but now Lynch seems ready to cut ties with the 31-year-old.
“I don’t see a lot of hope in him being a factor for us on the field moving forward,” Lynch said via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.
That’s the most pessimistic the 49ers have been with Ford over the last couple years. Now they’re reaching a point where they simply can’t keep leaning on him. They gave him a chance in after he missed 15 games in 2020, but he only played in six games in 2021.
To keep Ford on the roster would cost the 49ers $6.9 million against the cap. Releasing him with a post-June 1 designation would trim his cap hit to $5.8 million in each of the next two years. They’d also eat just shy of $1 million in dead cap space each year through 2026 after a couple restructures per Over the Cap.
Acquiring Ford helped the 49ers reach the Super Bowl in 2019, but even that year was mired in injuries. Health was never on his side and now San Francisco seems set to pull the plug on the experiment after three years.
