An undrafted find out of Texas, Poona Ford has spent nearly a decade proving he belongs as one of the league's steadiest run-stuffing defensive tackles.
Poona Ford has built a career on defying his draft status, going from an undrafted free agent to a well-traveled interior lineman who has anchored run defenses in Seattle, Buffalo, and Los Angeles. Now with the Rams, the 5-foot-11, 314-pound tackle continues to be one of the more reliable low-to-the-ground pass rushers at his position. His leverage-based style has made him a fixture in NFL trenches since 2018.
Path to the league
Ford starred at Texas, where he was named Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and a First-Team All-Big 12 selection in 2017 after appearing in 46 games with 30 starts. Despite that college production, he went unselected in the 2018 NFL Draft and signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent.
Career highlights
Ford developed into a starting-caliber interior defender in Seattle before moving on to stints with Buffalo and the Los Angeles Chargers. He set a career high with 53 tackles in 2021 and has consistently graded as one of the league's better run defenders relative to his draft pedigree. In March 2025, he signed a three-year, $27.6 million contract with the Rams.
2025 season recap
Ford played all 17 games for the Rams in 2025, recording 47 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and a pass defensed, the second-highest tackle total of his career. His durability continued a trend of appearing in every game in five of his last six seasons.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Poona Ford
- Pro Football Reference: Poona Ford
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
17 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | rams | 6 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2025 | rams | 17 | 47 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2024 | chargers | 17 | 39 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2023 | bills | 8 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | seahawks | 17 | 35 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2021 | seahawks | 17 | 53 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | seahawks | 16 | 40 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | seahawks | 15 | 32 | 21 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018 | seahawks | 11 | 22 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Defensive Tackle
- Group
- injuredReserveOrOut
- College
- Texas
- Hometown
- Hilton Head Island, SC, USA
- Age
- 30
- Status
- day-to-day
Latest news about Poona Ford
All news →AI Predicts Every Week 7 Game of the 2026 NFL Season
After an 8-of-14 Week 6 with two big High-confidence upsets, the model picks all 14 Week 7 games, from Patriots-Bears on Thursday to Cowboys-Eagles on Monday night, with only Minnesota rated High.
Rams Lose Davante Adams for 6 to 10 Weeks as Injuries Pile Up; Brandon McManus Signed
Adams ruptured a hamstring in the loss to Arizona and will have surgery. Poona Ford is out for the season, Kobie Turner is out several weeks, kicker Blake Grupe tore his ACL, and Myles Garrett still is not practicing. The Rams are 2-4.
