Cody Ford (born December 28, 1996) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...
offensive guard
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...
for the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
(NFL). He played
college football at
Oklahoma. He has played in the NFL for the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...
,
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...
.
College career
During his recruitment process, Ford originally committed to
TCU before flipping to the Oklahoma Sooners. After redshirting for the 2015 season, Ford started the first 3 games of 2016 for Oklahoma before suffering a broken fibula against
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
and missing the rest of the season. During the 2018 season, Ford was named a third-team
All-American as part of an offensive line that won the
Joe Moore Award
The Joe Moore Award is awarded annually to the best college football offensive line unit. The award is presented by the Joe Moore Foundation for Teamwork and they state that "The Joe Moore Award for the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit will a ...
. Following this season, Ford announced that he would be declaring for the
2019 NFL Draft
The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April ...
. When he declared, Ford was ranked as the number 3 guard available by NFL Draft analyst
Mel Kiper Jr.
Professional career
Buffalo Bills
Ford was drafted by the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...
in the second round with the 38th overall pick in the
2019 NFL Draft
The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April ...
.
Ford alternated between playing at guard and tackle during his rookie year, but saw more time at tackle after starter
Ty Nsekhe suffered an ankle injury. During Buffalo's Wild Card Round playoff loss against the
Houston Texans, Ford was called for an illegal blindside block as the Bills were driving into field goal range in overtime. The penalty played a part in Buffalo losing the game and has been seen as controversial. After Ford was later fined $28,075 by the league for the block, numerous Bills fans donated on
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...
in an attempt to help Ford cover the costs.
Ford entered the 2020 season as the Bills starting right guard. He moved over to left guard in Week 3 in place of
Quinton Spain. He started the next four games there, before missing three of the next four games. Prior to Week 12, Ford suffered a torn meniscus in practice and was placed on
injured reserve
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
on November 28.
Arizona Cardinals
On August 22, 2022, the Bills traded Ford to the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...
for a 2023 fifth-round pick. On September 10, 2022, he was placed on injured reserve after injuring his ankle at practice. He was activated on October 20.
Cincinnati Bengals
On March 16, 2023, Ford signed a one-year contract with the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
. Ford would make the initial 53-man roster, as the backup left guard to
Cordell Volson. He would make his first start with the Bengals in Week 12 against the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...
.
References
External links
*
Buffalo Bills bioOklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Cody
1996 births
Living people
People from Pineville, Louisiana
Players of American football from Louisiana
American football offensive linemen
Oklahoma Sooners football players
Buffalo Bills players
Arizona Cardinals players
Cincinnati Bengals players
Sportspeople from Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Pineville High School (Louisiana) alumni