Browns Veteran RB Criticized for Controversial Social Media Message
Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford is catching flak for recent social media posts expressing his unhappiness with his role.
Ford is the No. 3 running back on the depth chart in Cleveland, behind rookies Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson. Ford played a significant role for the Browns in recent seasons, especially when Nick Chubb was sidelined. Heading into the season, he had totalled 1,390 rushing yards and seven touchdowns with a solid, but inconsistent output.
However, the Browns made it clear through the draft that they planned to go younger at the position, letting Chubb walk in free agency, then drafting Judkins in the second round and Sampson in the fourth. Ford agreed to a pay cut this offseason to remain with the Browns.
Ford has registered just 21 carries for 73 yards this season. He also has 21 catches for 76 yards but has not scored a touchdown this season. Ford had just one touch in the Browns’ most recent loss to the New England Patriots.
The Browns decided not to trade Ford at the deadline, which may have given him a shot a being a larger part of the game plan elsewhere. Browns reporter Brad Stainbrook noticed some notable action from Ford after the deadline passed.
“Just one day after the NFL trade deadline passed, Browns RB Jerome Ford reposted two TikTok videos about being unhappy at work,” Stainbrook said.
Browns Fans Not Feeling Sympathy for Jerome Ford
Ford’s social media activity went viral and he received very little sympathy from Browns’ fans.
“Jerome you were jumped in the depth chart by two rookies. It shows you didn’t get the job down when called upon and you just were not good enough,” one fan said. “Just be happy you can make that type of money being a scrub bro.”
Another added, “I guarantee if anyone offered a 7th round pick, the Browns would have jumped. Nobody wants that scrub.”
“The funny thing is, we’re also unhappy with Jerome Ford’s work,” a fan said.
It’s unlikely Ford will get back into the mix the rest of the way. Judkins appears to be a star in the making and leads the Browns with 486 yards and five touchdowns through seven games played. Cleveland hasn’t showcased Sampson too much in recent weeks, but he’s shown upside as a change of pace to Judkins.
Browns Changing Offensive Approach
The Browns will enter Week 10 with an offensive shift. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will now call the plays, taking that duty from head coach Kevin Stefanski. It’s not expected to be a major shift but the Browns are hoping it can provide a spark for the unit that has produced just 15.8 points per game.
“I came to Cleveland to work for Kevin. That’s really the reason I took this job two years ago,” Rees said of the shift. “I think the timing of it, you have a bye week, you have some time to step away and look at things through a different perspective. We want to create a spark for the offense. Whatever they want me to do, whatever is asked me to help us win games, that’s what I want to do at the highest level.”
The Browns will continue to roll with Dillon Gabriel as their starting quarterback. The rookie is 1-3 as the starter in Cleveland, passing for just 702 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Browns do get the benefit of facing the New York Jets in their first game out of the break. The Jets were sellers at the trade deadline, shipping away two Pro Bowl defenders in cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
Matt Nagy reveals the offense will live and die by an attribute that's on pace to be the best ever in this era of Chiefs football
The Kansas City Chiefs' offense in 2025 may be the scariest offense they have had in the Patrick Mahomes era . Of course, we have to look at the offense – starting with their second half against the New York Giants – when something really clicked for them. Plus, they've got Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown healthy at the same time for the first time ever. Not to mention, Travis Kelce looks to be in his prime, again.
This offense is dangerous, to the point where it's acceptable to get into third-and-long situations and turn them into fourth-and-short situations. Kansas City has been elite on fourth down, and it will live and die with that type of aggressiveness this season.
Chiefs OC Matt Nagy talks fourth down aggressiveness
"I like what you just said about the aggressiveness. You just used it twice in there, and we got to keep that going," offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said in a presser this week. "Making sure we’re aggressive is important. I know we’ve talked about it all the time. We talk about it internally.
"We have to stay that way, and if you don’t get it, that’s okay, at least everybody knows this is how we're going to do it, and we’re going to go down this way, and then when you do get it, it’s just contagious. So, we want to keep that going, and that’s the positivity and the power of speaking it into existence.”
When you have Mahomes as your quarterback and Andy Reid as the play-caller, for the most part, you will usually feel good about your chances on fourth down. But this team, especially the last few years, has been pretty mid, if not bad at times, on third and even fourth down and short situations.
In the past, some of the play-calling and decision-making have been a bit iffy. Additionally, the execution has just not been there. This year is different, as the Chiefs are the best they have been on fourth down in this era. Kansas City is converting 1.8 fourth downs per game.
Chiefs' fourth down conversions per game by season, via Team Rankings
- 2025: 1.8 per game, 1st in the league
- 2024: 0.7 per game, 18th in the league
- 2023: 0.6 per game, 24th in the league
- 2022: 0.5 per game, 26th in the league
- 2021: 0.6 per game, 28th in the league
- 2020: 0.7 per game, 15th in the league
- 2019: 0.5 per game, 16th in the league
- 2018: 0.8 per game, 3rd in the league
Obviously, these numbers could go down, but they are certainly on pace to be better than 0.8, their best per-game average since 2018. Per Sports Info Solutions, anytime the Chiefs have gotten in 11 personnel on fourth down this season, they have converted. Granted, that's only eight snaps, but that's certainly something. Their five snaps of 12 personnel have a 60% success rate.
Kansas City is most effective on fourth down when using pre-snap motion, as nine of those snaps have converted into a first down, five of which were pass plays, and four of which were run plays. This team is being ultra-aggressive on fourth down, and they're sticking with what works.
When a team is confident in itself, no matter how many downs it has, it becomes dangerous. They have the most conversions in the NFL with 14, and the third highest conversion percentage at 82% behind the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. That's what we are seeing with the Chiefs, and that's likely what we will see against the Buffalo Bills this week as Mahomes and Josh Allen battle it out again.
