Los Angeles Rams waive former Pitt star Paris Ford

Former Pitt safety Paris Ford has had a rough go of it since departing Pittsburgh, as he went undrafted back in May before getting signed by the Los Angeles Rams. And on Monday, Ford’s stint with the Rams came to an end, as the team cut him to work toward the 80-player limit that will be imposed on teams on Tuesday.

Ford was waived along with former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Devlin Hodges and running back Raymond Calais, although Calais, who was injured over the weekend, will be placed on the Rams’ injured reserve list if he clears waivers. With the three cuts, the Rams’ active roster is down to 80 players. And with Ford waived, he is free to sign elsewhere.

Ford’s tenure with the Rams was brief and devoid of notable highlights, as he was only given several snaps in the team’s preseason matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night to show what he could do. However, despite seeing some action late in the game, Ford did not come up with any tackles or post any other stats.

The 6’0”, 190-pound safety came to Pitt from Steel Valley High School as one of the top recruits in the nation back in 2017, but he took some time to make his mark on the program, redshirting in 2017 and playing as a reserve in 2018 before having a breakout year in 2019. And after a solid start to the 2020 campaign, Ford opted out of the final four games of the season after he was taken out of Pitt’s 45-3 loss to Notre Dame. He then decided to forego his senior year at Pitt to enter the NFL draft.

At this point, Ford's decision to skip his senior season looks like it will go down as a costly miscalculation, as neither the draft nor a summer with the Rams organization worked out in his favor. And with NFL teams working to trim their rosters down to 53 men by Aug. 31, the timing of the move by the Rams puts Ford in a tough spot. However, he may still be able to secure a spot on a practice squad.