Among the big moves that are set to become official once the league year starts on Wednesday afternoon is the trade sending Dee Ford from the Chiefs to the 49ers.
Ford is also set to sign a fat new contract with a total value of $87.5 million over five years with some $45 million in guarantees. That’s a pretty good sign of how much the Niners value having an edge rusher like Ford in the lineup and he told Terez Paylor of Yahoo Sports that the team made that clear to him verbally as well.
“I feel appreciated,” Ford said. “Me knowing they believe in me ... talking to the GM, talking to the owner, talking to the head coach ... they couldn’t wait [for me to get there].”
Ford is coming off his best NFL season and said the role the 49ers pitched to him was “music to my ears” because it called for him to attack off the line almost all the time. Ford also expects to be even stronger in 2019 since he isn’t coming off the back injury that limited him to six games in 2017.
“Last year, at the point of attack, I wasn’t very strong -- sometimes, they could knock me off my path,” Ford said. “Now, I’m gonna be like a Ferrari, but with an 18-wheeler’s force. I’m gonna have the muscle mass behind it.”
The 49ers have also added linebacker Kwon Alexander to the mix and will be hoping their new defensive additions match with the returning Jimmy Garoppolo to help the team end a streak of four straight losing seasons.
