It has been quite the year for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Isaiah Ford. Ford started the year as a young player on the Dolphins’ roster with some momentum around his presence — Miami had seen him contribute 235 receiving yards over the team’s final four games of the 2019 season after serving predominantly as a practice squad player for the better part of his first three seasons in the NFL.
Add in a 76 yard performance against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 this season and Ford seemed to be trending towards a bigger role; especially with the Dolphins seeing Albert Wilson and Allen Hurns opt out of the season due to concerns surrounding COVID-19.
But Ford, who was formerly a 7th-round draft choice by Miami, saw his role plateau there and just a few months later he was actually traded to New England for a conditional late-round draft selection. But the end of 2020 has come full circle for Ford, who was cut by the Patriots in December, added to the Dolphins’ practice squad in the immediate aftermath of that transaction and has dressed and contributed to the Dolphins’ last two wins after being elevated from the practice squad on game day.
And now Ford will end the year where he started — as a member of the Miami Dolphins’ active roster. The Dolphins announced yesterday that Ford has been elevated to a spot on the 53-man roster to close the season and will once again have a chance to stick for another offseason.
The challenge for Ford in doing so will be surviving what feels like an inevitable purge in the wide receiver room. Miami’s receivers have not been durable or dynamic enough this season for the team to feel confident that they can maximize the skills of their young franchise quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. And if a purge comes, Ford will be one of the first names on the chopping block, given that the team has already presumably deemed him as expendable. But that is a worry for another day. For now, Ford can relish being back where he started 2020 — on the Dolphins’ active roster.
