Former Chicago Bears Ahmad Merritt and Carl Ford sign with Rush
November 2, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release
Two former Bears wide receivers - Ahmad Merritt and Carl Ford - have signed contracts to play for the ArenaBowl XX champion Chicago Rush, the team announced today.
"We are excited to add two more talented and experienced players to our 2007 roster," said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. "Ahmad Merritt is a player who is very exciting with the ball in his hands, and has the opportunity to make a big play every time he touches the ball. Carl Ford is a player whose career we have followed since we first watched him in training camp with the Bears in 2005. He has great ability and will definitely strengthen our receiving corps."
"I am looking forward to playing in Chicago again," said Merritt. "My goal is to help the Rush repeat as ArenaBowl champions."
Merritt (5-10, 195, Wisconsin), a former high school All-American at Chicago's St. Rita High School, originally was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent in May 2000. After spending the 2000 season and the first 14 games of the 2001 season on the Bears practice squad, Merritt was promoted to the active roster in December 2001 and played for the Bears through the 2003 season, catching 19 passes for 170 yards. He is known for scoring the Bears last offensive touchdown in old Soldier Field - a 47-yard TD run in the playoffs against Philadelphia in January 2002.
Ford (6-0, 174, Toledo) joins the Rush after spending time in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, in addition to the Bears. A seventh-round draft pick of the Packers in 2003, Ford spent a season in Green Bay before being signed to the Bears practice squad in 2004. He was elevated to the Bears active roster in 2005 and appeared in 10 games before being released and signed by the Eagles for the remaining six weeks of the season.
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