ORCHARD PARK - Just two days ago, after the Buffalo Bills trounced the Denver Broncos, coach Sean McDermott was singing the praises of offensive guard Cody Ford.
“I think he's done a really good job, he really has,” McDermott said after Ford played 27 snaps in the game. “You saw him finishing off blocks in a physical manner. Today that stood out to me and I think he's had a phenomenal training camp to this point.”
Monday afternoon, the Bills traded Ford to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round draft pick.
And so ends a vastly disappointing tenure in Buffalo for Ford, a player the team picked in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft to be their right tackle for years to come.
As is turned out, Ford was too slow to combat speed rushers off the edge so he moved inside to guard, and he played on both sides of the line but never distinguished himself and ultimately became a backup in 2020 and 2021.
Cutting former fifth-round pick Wyatt Teller and watching the guard become a fine, starting player for Cleveland, was certainly an error in judgment by Brandon Beane and the personnel department. But trading up to the No. 38 overall spot to pick Ford now ranks as the biggest draft mistake the regime has made.
The timing of the move is a bit curious because the Bills do not have great depth on the interior of their line.
The starters are set - Rodger Saffold is the left guard and Ryan Bates is the right guard, but behind them it’s a bit of a free for all.
Veteran free agent signee Greg Mancz left practice Monday on a cart after suffering some sort of leg or foot injury. And Ike Boettger, who was a starter last season, is not going to be available for the first portion of the season as he battles back from a torn Achilles.
Bobby Hart and Greg Van Roten, who both have prior NFL starting experience, are in the mix, but neither is a player the Bills would want to rely on if Saffold or Bates were to get hurt. Apparently Ford wasn't either.
“Ultimately he wasn’t gonna start for us,” Beane said Tuesday. “We had kind of said this was the group that we’re rolling with. That decision was made. I know in my heart of hearts, I wanted Cody to come in here and have his best year into his fourth year and make a decision as to whether we were gonna re-sign him or not.
“Cody really wants to start and felt that’s what he deserved. And for us, versatility is very important, and as we pare this (roster) down, it just ultimately made the most sense for the Bills and for Cody. A team made an aggressive enough move that I thought it made sense at this point, add a pick that hopefully we do a good job with next April.”
Ford had only one year left on his original contract and was due to count $1.4 million on this year’s salary cap and he will cost about $900,000 in dead cap space, but being able to peddle that $1.4 million to the Cardinals and get a draft pick in return was good work by Beane to salvage something.
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After the game Saturday, Ford spoke to The Athletic and was asked about his plight of going from being the 38th overall pick in the draft to battling to maintain a backup job.
“I don’t know anybody who would accept being a backup,” Ford said, “but at the end of the day, as competitors, we need to check ourselves before we look at anything else. I’d love to not be in the position that I’m in, but at the same time, I haven’t done what I’ve needed to do to be where I want to be.”
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast