Jerome Ford’s 2025 NFL Season Ends Early After Shoulder Injury

With four games left on Cleveland’s schedule, beginning Sunday against the Chicago Bears, Ford’s season is officially closed.
A Promising Season Cut Short
According to the Browns, Ford is dealing with a shoulder injury the kind that doesn’t just limit a player, but makes every hit feel like a small earthquake. It’s the latest twist in what has already been a transitional year for the 24-year-old back.
Ford entered the 2025 season after leading the Browns in rushing in both 2023 and 2024, a streak that many thought positioned him as Cleveland’s long-term RB1. But the team’s bold draft-day decision changed everything.
A Reduced Role After the Arrival of Quinshon Judkins
When Cleveland selected Alabama standout Quinshon Judkins in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the writing on the wall became clearer with each snap: Ford’s role as the primary ball-carrier was shrinking.
Judkins brought fresh legs, star power, and a bruising running style that quickly commanded attention. Ford, meanwhile, found himself used more sparingly a reliable option, but no longer the centerpiece of the rushing attack.
For the 2025 season, Ford finishes with:
73 rushing yards on 24 carries
26 receptions for 103 receiving yards
An impressive 22.6-yard average on 13 kickoff returns
A far cry from the 813 yards he posted in 2023 or the 565 yards he delivered in 2024 but his versatility still shined in small flashes.
What’s Next for Jerome Ford?
Ford now faces a pivotal offseason. He’s in the final year of the four-year rookie contract he signed after being drafted in the fifth round in 2022. Although he renegotiated his deal earlier this year reducing his non-guaranteed $3.486 million salary to a guaranteed $1.75 million his future with the franchise remains uncertain.
Unless the Browns re-sign him before March, Ford will hit the market as an unrestricted free agent, free to seek a team that might give him the opportunity to reclaim the RB1 role he once held so naturally.
A Player With Plenty Left to Offer
Even with the injury and reduced role, Ford’s résumé remains solid. He’s shown durability, explosiveness, and a strong ability to contribute as both a runner and a pass-catcher. With health on his side, he could easily become one of the more intriguing running backs available in the 2026 free-agent class.
For now, though, Ford’s season ends not with fireworks, but with enforced rest the kind every athlete dreads but often comes to respect.