Chase Ford (born July 19, 1990) is a former

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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He was signed by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

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 ...

in 2012, and has also played for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. 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 ...

Kilgore College Kilgore College (KC) is a public community college in Kilgore, Texas. It has an annual enrollment in excess of 5,000 students and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the associate deg ...

from 2008–09, then played at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Early years

Ford attended

Corrigan-Camden High School Corrigan-Camden High School is a public high school in Corrigan, Texas, United States. It is part of the Corrigan-Camden Independent School District. In addition to Corrigan, the district serves the census-designated place of Pleasant Hill, and ...

Corrigan, Texas Corrigan is a town in north central Polk County, Texas. It is located along U.S. Highway 59 and is about 100 miles from Houston. Its population was 1,477 in the 2020 census. Background Corrigan largely emerged when the Houston East and West Tex ...

, where he was a letterman in football, basketball and track. In

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, he played as a

, and earned All-District honors as a senior. In

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, he was named to All-State basketball team in Class 2A. In

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, he competed as a sprinter and ran the third leg on the Bulldogs'

4 × 400 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

squad, helping them win the Texas Class 2A T&F Meet with a time of 3:20.08 minutes. Following his senior season, he played football at

Kilgore Junior College Kilgore College (KC) is a public community college in Kilgore, Texas. It has an annual enrollment in excess of 5,000 students and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the associate deg ...

Kilgore, Texas Kilgore is a city in Gregg and Rusk counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United Sta ...

, where he earned 2nd-Team JUCO All-America honors after leading the conference with 32 receptions for 545 receiving yards.

College career

After his sophomore season at Kilgore, Ford chose to enroll at the

over scholarship offers from

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He played for the

Miami Hurricanes football The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Coastal Division of the Atlanti ...

team as a

from 2010 to 2011. As a junior in 2010, he appeared in nine games, recording 37 yards against Notre Dame in the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

. He had three games with at least two catches. As a senior in 2011, he played in all 12 games, recording at least one catch in seven games. He scored his lone touchdown of the season against

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

. He registered a season-high 33-yard reception against

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. He also recorded two receptions in games against

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He majored in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

at the University of Miami, earning his degree in spring 2012.

Professional career

2012 NFL Combine

Philadelphia Eagles

On April 29, 2012, he signed with the

as an undrafted free agent, where he spent a week on the practice squad.

Minnesota Vikings

On December 26, 2012, he was signed with the

to join the practice squad. Ford was added to the roster in 2013 when starting Tight End

Kyle Rudolph Kyle Daniel Rudolph (born November 9, 1989) is an American football tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second ...

was injured. In 2013 he played in 9 games, made 11 catches for 133 yards with a 12.1 catch average. The following season, he played in 11 games with 23 catches for 258 yards and one touchdown for 22 yards. He was waived on November 11, 2015. He then was re-signed to the practice squad on November 13, 2015.

Baltimore Ravens

On November 17, 2015, Ford was signed from the

practice squad to the Ravens. He was placed on the team's injured reserve on November 30. On April 12, 2016, the Ravens waived Ford making him a free agent.

Cleveland Browns

Ford was claimed off waivers by 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 ( ...

on April 13, 2016. On April 20, 2016, the Browns released Ford.

References

External links

Miami Hurricanes bioMinnesota Vikings bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Chase 1990 births Living people American football tight ends Miami Hurricanes football players Philadelphia Eagles players Minnesota Vikings players Baltimore Ravens players Cleveland Browns players