Former Tennessee Volunteers safety Eric Berry made his return to the field with Kansas City Thursday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Comebacks are nothing new for Eric Berry. The former Vol who has spent his whole career with the Kansas City Chiefs is most notable for coming back from lymphoma at the end of the 2014 season to have a monster 2015 season.
However, Berry also suffered a season-ending injury in 2011, his second season in the NFL. He came back to have two straight All-Pro seasons in 2012 and 2013, following up on his All-Pro rookie campaign.
Once again, Eric Berry had an emotional return Thursday night. The safety suffered a season-ending achilles injury in the 2017 opener against the New England Patriots. He had been out since then, riding the bench throughout 2018 and watching his team get to 11-2 and first place in the AFC by two games.
Well, he finally made his comeback again on Thursday night football against the Los Angeles Chargers. And in front of his home crowd at Arrowhead, it was beyond emotional to watch. Here are a couple of videos of him during pregame warmups.
For the first time since 2017, Eric Berry has taken the field at Arrowhead Stadium for the @chiefs ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QDfIBQJ9ZF
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 14, 2018
First look this season at Eric Berry on the field for the @chiefs 💪 pic.twitter.com/xNW6sxFtLs
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) December 14, 2018
Upon entering the game, Berry had an immediate impact. He was sent on a safety blitz that helped cause Phillip Rivers to throw an interception on the Chargers’ opening offensive drive. The very next drive, Berry made a solo tackle on third down to keep them from getting a first down.
So, in predictable fashion, Berry did not have a quiet return. With all the talent on this Kansas City Chiefs team, that is incredibly good news. They already had potentially the best team in the NFL, but Berry is another crucial veteran who can help them when it comes playoff time.
This team now has a perfect mix of young talent and veteran leadership, and there’s no greater veteran than Eric Berry. He’s accomplished everything you could in the NFL despite three different serious incidents cutting short three different seasons. If he could get a Super Bowl ring, there would be nothing left for him to have to do.