Packers place former Auburn standout on injured reserve - AL.com

If the Green Bay Packers are going to make the NFL playoffs on Sunday, they’ll have to do it without safety Rudy Ford. And if the Packers reach the postseason, they won’t have Ford in the playoffs either.

Green Bay placed Ford on injured reserve on Saturday, which requires at least a four-game stay on the sidelines.

A hamstring injury prevented Ford from practicing this week as the Packers prepared to play the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

If Green Bay beats the Bears, it will have a wild-card spot in the NFC playoffs.

The injured-reserve designation ends an odd year for Ford.

A special-teams stalwart for most of his seven NFL seasons, Ford began getting much more secondary duty in 2021 and reached a career high with 626 defensive snaps this season, his second with Green Bay.

Ford started his first eight games in 2023 and played 100 percent of the defensive snaps in seven of them. But a calf injury caused him to miss three of the Packers’ four November games. Ford had one start (and played every defensive snap) in the past five games. In Sunday’s 33-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Ford appeared only on special teams.

In 2023, Ford reached a career high with 71 tackles, intercepted two passes and recovered one fumble. Quarterbacks throwing to receivers covered by Ford this year had a passing-efficiency rating of only 65.0.

Ford was an all-state running back at New Hope High School in 2012, when he scored 27 touchdowns for the Indians.

Ford made the transition from running back to defensive back in his first season at Auburn. Although he still ran for 79 yards and one touchdown on eight carries during his time with the Tigers, Ford became a three-year starter in Auburn’s secondary.

Ford entered the NFL as a sixth-round selection of the Arizona Cardinals in the 2017 draft.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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