49ers defensive end Dee Ford sent a goodbye text to teammates on Tuesday night. At least one interpreted it to be a farewell for good. Ford now says he didn’t mean it to be permanent.
“The articles saying I told my teammates I expected to be released are false,” Ford told Mike Silver, via 49ersWebZone.com. “I’m going to be getting rehab and taking the time needed to get back and I was saying goodbye to the boys because I wouldn’t be in the building. We are still rolling. We’re just taking the time needed.”
The message came in a group text to all defensive linemen, adding to the perception that Ford won’t be back.
It could be a distinction without a difference. With the window closing today on Ford’s ability to return to the active roster in 2021, and given that Ford is leaving the team to rehab on his own, he won’t be back this year.
So will he be back in 2022? He has a $4.6 million roster bonus guaranteed for injury and a $2.4 million salary. The roster bonus may be unavoidable, unless his efforts to rehab on his own are successful. Either way, the 49ers may be at the point where they decide to move on from Ford.