Franchise tag placed on Ford by Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs placed the franchise tag on outside linebacker Dee Ford on Monday with a potential eye toward making a trade. Both NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Chiefs are looking to deal with the pass-rushing specialist.

The Chiefs are switching from 3-4 base defence to a 4-3 under new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, with Ford likely moving to defensive end if he stays with Kansas City. Ford has 30.5 career sacks in five seasons, all with the Chiefs, including a personal-best 13 in 2018, when he attained career firsts by starting all 16 regular-season games and being selected to the Pro Bowl. He also forced a league-high seven fumbles.

Ford, 27, earned about $8.7 million in 2018 after the fifth-year option of his contract was exercised. The one-year franchise tag for linebackers is worth $15,443,000 in 2019. Ford was one of several top pass rushers who was tagged Monday, including the Dallas Cowboys' DeMarcus Lawrence, the Houston Texans' Jadeveon Clowney, the Atlanta Falcons' Grady Jarrett and the Seattle Seahawks' Frank Clark.

(With inputs from agencies.)