The Kansas City Chiefs and former Tennessee Football safety Eric Berry did not reach a long-term deal by the deadline. The Volunteers legend was screwed.
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By now, you are probably aware that former Vols legend Eric Berry did not reach a long-term deal with the Kansas City Chiefs by Friday’s deadline.
Berry will now play this year under the $10.8 million franchise tag. Then, negotiations come again next year.
A sticking point, according to sources, was the fact that the Chiefs wanted Berry to pay for a disability policy they took out on him.
Never mind the level of blatant disrespect that shows for the greatest professional the franchise ever had. Let’s just get to how badly the Chiefs screwed themselves for the future.
They are obviously worried about cap space, and given the fact that they will have to sign Dontari Poe next year, it seems logical to play the leverage game.
The problem is that Poe might command a much larger salary on the open market than Berry.
But he is nowhere near Berry’s value, and that is what this comes down to.
The fact of the matter is, despite conventional wisdom, an elite strong safety is far more valuable in the NFL than a nose tackle, even in a 3-4 defense.
Although Poe is valuable and takes up blockers, his most important job is to get into the backfield, and he is replaceable in that regard. Arrowhead Addict has great analysis on that here.
Meanwhile, if a safety is as elite as Berry, they can change the complexion of an entire defense.
Look at what happened to the Pittsburgh Steelers defense once Troy Polamalu got old. He was the biggest X-Factor on the team.
The same goes true for the Baltimore Ravens after Ed Reed left.
Going back to Peyton Manning’s first Super Bowl run with the Indianapolis Colts, they went from the worst rush defense in the regular season to the best in the playoffs thanks to the return of safety Bob Sanders.
Berry is on those guys’ levels and beyond.
Poe is a very good nose tackle. Berry is the best safety in the NFL. He is also the emotional leader of the franchise.
Yes, there is the fear of his health, and we can’t deny that his cancer might return. But would it really have been that much for them to pay the disability policy? After all, Poe has his own health issues.
So if the sticking points were paying the disability policy and trying to keep Dontari Poe, the Chiefs might have made a huge mistake.
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If they can thread the needle and keep both, this article will be completely meaningless. But that just got a lot harder.
And losing Berry will spell the demise of the team as it currently stands.