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The Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills completed a trade on Thursday that could be extremely beneficial for starting quarterback Kyler Murray. The Cardinals have acquired offensive lineman Cody Ford in a deal with the Bills that will see a 2023 fifth-round pick head the other way, according to Bills insider Matt Parrino of syracuse.com.
#Bills have traded guard Cody Ford to the Arizona Cardinals for a 2023 5th round pick. Brandon Beane with his usual late August wheelin’ and dealin’.
Ford will play with Kyler Murray again after the two played together at Oklahoma.
— Matt Parrino (@MattParrino) August 22, 2022
The offensive guard will be reunited with Murray, as the pair were teammates dating back to their days as members of the Oklahoma Sooners football team. Murray and Ford were teammates in Norman from 2017-18 after Murray arrived from Texas A&M. The pair were both selected in the 2019 NFL Draft, with Murray going to Arizona as the first overall pick. Ford was drafted in the second round (38th overall) by the Bills.
Ford was the Bills' backup right guard, stuck behind Ryan Bates on the depth chart. It's unclear what the Cardinals' plan for Ford are, but he could compete with Will Hernandez for a shot at the starting right guard position. His experience in protecting Murray could go a long way toward helping him win out that battle.
Ford has played three seasons in the NFL, all of them with the Bills. He featured in 16 games as a rookie, starting 15, but his playing time reduced over each of the past two seasons. An injury limited him to just seven games in 2020, and he featured in 15 games in 2021 but only started seven of them. With the Bills moving on from him in 2022, he'll get a lifeline with some familiar faces in Arizona.
