Chiefs outside linebacker Dee Ford says he’s ‘back in full form’

Midway through his first practice of Chiefs training camp, Dee Ford yelled over to outside linebackers coach Mike Smith.

Ford was frustrated, he said after Monday’s practice.

For Ford, who missed all but six games with a lingering back injury last season, the frustration was rooted in a desire to do more, to show his coaches he was “back in full form” following a season-ending back surgery.

But his coaches had other ideas, cautioning the fifth-year outside linebacker to take it slow.

“It’s going to be very frustrating because I feel good,” Ford said. “And once you get in the groove of things, you don’t want to come out, and you don’t want to stop. It’s been a long time since I felt like that.”

The last time Ford felt this good, he said, was during his third season, when he recorded 10 sacks and 38 tackles.

But feeling like his old self doesn’t give Ford the green light to dive head-first into training camp. Instead, he reported a couple days earlier than the rest of the veterans so he could slowly get back into his groove on the field before the pads come on Saturday.

“We’ll just ease him in and see how he does,” coach Andy Reid said. “I’m going to go nice and slow and communicate with him.”

Ford doesn’t want to go slow, but he knows he needs to.

With his contract up in 2019 and defensive mainstays like Tamba Hali released in the offseason, this season is perhaps Ford’s most important as a Chief.

“One of my goals is to morph into a leader,” Ford said. “I eventually want to be here. … In order for you to really become a leader, you have to really show it on the field first. And so I’m still on that stage.”

In his first four seasons with the organization, Ford showed plenty of potential. He racked up 10 sacks in the first nine games of 2016. Last year, he forced a fumble and recorded two sacks — including one on Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz — before finishing the year on injured reserve.

Getting back to that 2016 production is Ford’s primary aim, but back surgeries can be a bit of a wild card.

“Coming off of back surgery, nobody really expects you to be back to where you once were,” Ford said. “It happened to me in college when I had my first back surgery, and I actually came back like a different animal. (The injury is) definitely good motivation.”

This is the year he wants — and needs — to do more, combining those spurts of solid defense with a consistent presence in the pass rush. And it all starts with camp.

“I see it as an opportunity to bring everything together,” Ford said. “Everyone’s seen flashes of what I can do, and this is the opportunity for 16 games. In order to be a great player, you have to be consistent. You can’t just be good.

“I think in my third year, those first 10 games or so before I got hurt, everybody was just like, ‘Yeah, that’s the guy we expected.’ And then I got hurt. I showed flashes before I got hurt last year. But in order to be great, you have to be consistent. So I see that as in this is time to put it all together.”