If anyone needed a fresh start in 2019, it was Dee Ford.
Patriots fans will forever remember Ford as that guy who lined up offsides late in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game, keeping New England's hopes alive en route to an overtime win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
But the 27-year-old linebacker now is headed to San Francisco after the 49ers reportedly agreed to trade a 2020 second-round pick for Ford on Tuesday night. And he's apparently very excited about his change in scenery.
"They don’t understand what they’re about to get — I needed this, bro," Ford told Yahoo Sports' Terez Paylor on Tuesday night.
Ford has good reason to be happy: The Niners reportedly will give him a new five-year contract worth $87.5 million. That's a testament to his strong 2018 campaign in which he tallied a career-high 13 sacks while forcing seven fumbles.
Still, Ford is wary of the criticism that followed him prior to 2018, when some labeled the 23rd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft a "bust" due to some underwhelming campaigns in Kansas City.
“For so long, I’ve been fighting that narrative that I’m not that good, that I didn’t qualify as [a good pick]," Ford told Paylor.
New England Patriots
And yes, he still hears those who blame him for Kansas City's AFC Championship Game loss -- and apparently is using the haters as motivation in San Fran.
“Man, it’s gonna fuel me like none other," Ford said of the criticism he faces.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, Ford's move to the NFC means they won't get to thank him again for that offside misstep. Maybe some other time.
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