Chiefs prepare to swap Ford for Niners, source says

The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to trade their player Dee Ford against the San Francisco 49ers, ESPN's Josina Anderson confirmed.

The Niners are expected to give Ford a $ 87.5 million multi-year contract over five years, the source said.

The deal can not be made official until the start of the new championship year on Wednesday.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Chiefs had placed the franchise label on Ford last week, with the goal of trying to trade it.

Kansas City hired Steve Spagnuolo as the defensive coordinator and went from 3-4 to 4-3 his basic defensive system, which would have required a job change for Ford and Justin Houston, who was released.

Last season, Ford, who turns 28 on March 19, will eventually become the Chiefs' dreamed player when he was ejected from Auburn in the first round in 2014. He started all 16 games for the first time in his career and had a career -high 13 bags. He was also selected for the first time in the Pro Bowl.

Ford ended his best season with his least productive game. He had no sacks or sacks in the loss to the New England Patriots in the CFA championship game. He was also penalized for being off-line on a game that resulted in a last-minute interception in the fourth quarter.

The interception could have allowed the Chiefs, who had four points in advance at the time, to exceed the allotted time. Instead, the Patriots continued on their way to a touchdown and eventually won in overtime.

For the 49ers, adding an upper edge rush – or two – has long been at the top of their off-season shopping list. In the 2018 season, coach Kyle Shanahan compared the importance of defense against the ball in defense with that of an attacking quarterback. It's a sentiment shared by general manager John Lynch during the NFL scouting campaign last month.

"You have to have a guy who can close the games, the halves," said Lynch at the time. "When you have them, they can make a difference – I think we're looking for strong players too … They'll play with a quick trigger and use it, but they're guys who can get to the quarterback and finish it. "

San Francisco is looking for an outside player who fits this description since his separation with Aldon Smith in 2014. Last year, Inside lineman DeForest Buckner has become the first Niner to reach double-digit bags since Smith in 2012, but Shanahan and Lynch are looking for extra support to help a team that has lost 11 games in one possession in the past two seasons.