Michael Ford (born August 4, 1995) 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 with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

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 ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Southeast Missouri State Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...

Early life and high school

Ford was born and grew up in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the ...

and attended Marquette Catholic High School, where he played both running back and defensive back for the Explorers football team. As a senior, Ford was named first-team all-conference on both offense and defense and All-State at running back after rushing for 1,614 yards and 28 touchdowns, scoring an additional five touchdowns on returns, and recording 69 tackles with two fumble recoveries and three interceptions on defense.

College career

Ford spent five seasons at

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...

, redshirting his freshman season and playing wide receiver as a redshirt freshman. He was moved to defensive back at the beginning of his redshirt freshman season. As a redshirt sophomore, his first season as a starter, Ford made 44 tackles and had five interceptions and seven pass breakups and was named second-team All-

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Divisi ...

. As a redshirt senior, Ford made 32 tackles with two sacks, an interception and 14 passes broken up.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Ford signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on April 28, 2018. He failed to make the active roster out of training camp and was subsequently re-signed by the Lions to the team's practice squad on September 2, 2018. Ford was promoted to the Lions' active roster on November 14, 2018, after offensive guard

T. J. Lang Thomas John "T. J." Lang (born September 20, 1987) is a former American football guard. He played college football at Eastern Michigan and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Lang was a member of the P ...

was placed on injured reserve. Ford made his NFL debut on November 18, 2018, when he started at cornerback and played on special teams in a 20–19 win over the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, recording two tackles. In his rookie season, Ford played in seven games (four starts) with 25 tackles. Ford played in 15 games with two starts during the 2019 season, recording 12 tackles and two passes defended. He was assigned a one-year tender with the Lions as an exclusive rights free agent on March 18, 2020. He signed the tender on April 21, 2020. He was placed on injured reserve on September 6, 2020. He was activated on October 24. Ford signed a contract extension with the Lions on March 8, 2021. On August 30, 2021, Ford was waived by the Lions.

Denver Broncos

On September 1, 2021, Ford was claimed off waivers by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on October 16, 2021. He was activated on November 6.

Atlanta Falcons

On April 8, 2022, Ford signed a contract with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Cleveland Browns

On March 21, 2023, Ford signed with the

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioSoutheast Missouri State Redhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Mike 1995 births Living people American football cornerbacks Atlanta Falcons players Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Detroit Lions players Sportspeople from Madison County, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football players People from Alton, Illinois