Eric

Berry

The veteran safety is expected to return in 2020 after sitting out all of last season with injuries. Berry said he received offers in 2019 but wanted to make sure he was healthy enough to play before rushing back. Now comfortable with his playing level, Berry is looking to make comeback and the Colts are the early favorite. Berry is close friends with Colts edge rusher Justin Houston, and he probably wants to play for a playoff-contending team at this stage of his career. With his injury history, any team that signs Berry is taking on risk.

Berry intentionally sat out 2019 despite receiving interest from teams this past year in an attempt to get his body and mind ready for the 2020 NFL season. The 3x All-Pro safety will only be 31 next year but has played just three games since the 2016 season ended. Berry will need to prove he’s fully healthy to sign a big contract in free agency this offseason. There’s a chance Berry can return starting-level play, but signing Berry would be a roll of the dice.

Dorsey added the team has also spoken with free agent S Tre Boston as they look to replace Jabrill Peppers. “They’re both really good football players who we have had discussions with their representatives and that’s where we are right now,” Dorsey said. Damarious Randall should occupy one of the safety spots, but the Browns will likely bring in outside help for the other starting job.

Per Paylor, Berry will now embark on other visits. Where he might be going is unclear. Even with his major injury concerns, Berry is the best of what is left on a picked-over safety market.

It’s Berry’s first visit since initially being released by the Chiefs. Still only 30, the three-time All-Pro makes for the perfect fit for Dallas after the team missed out on landing current Ravens S Earl Thomas in free agency. The only downside to signing Berry is his all-too-obvious injury history that’s limited him to just three regular season games over the last two seasons. He would be a game-changer in the back of Dallas’ secondary.

Berry was expected to need surgery after being limited to two games by an ankle/heel injury last season, but noted foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson told him he should be able to play through the injury. Of course, that was not the case last year, when Berry was day-to-day seemingly all season, and injury concerns will be the one big barrier the 30-year-old faces as he looks for a new deal. When all is said and done, Berry might have to settle for a prove-it deal despite his decorated past.

This was an expected move after the Chiefs signed Tyrann Mathieu to a record-breaking contract earlier in the week. It just made no sense to commit close to $30 million in cap charges to a pair of safeties. The Chiefs, however, will have to eat the money somehow. They decided to do it with a post-June 1 designation, clearing over $9.5 million in cap space while taking on $6.95 million in dead money this year and $8 million in 2020. At the end of the day, Berry’s exceptional run with the Chiefs is over after nine years.

Stapleton is a Giants beat writer, so take this with a massive grain of salt. But the connection is there with GM John Dorsey knowing Berry from their time together in Kansas City, and Dorsey was the one who handed Berry his record-setting contract. Berry, though, is not the same player anymore after Achilles’ issues and has played three games since the start of the 2017 campaign. The Chiefs are expected to rid themselves of Berry after signing Tyrann Mathieu.

Mathieu landed a contract that counts $14 million per year as the league’s highest-paid safety. And with Berry making $13 million annually, it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for the Chiefs to pay a combined $27 million per year to its safety tandem. Berry has played three games over the last two seasons due to Achilles and heel issues. He doesn’t need surgery this offseason, but Berry is looking like damaged goods and on the wrong side of 30. If the Chiefs were to release Berry, it will likely happen this week before over $7 million of his salary becomes guaranteed.

Berry has played a grand total of three games the last two seasons and is owed $12.5 million in salary and bonuses in 2019. The heel injury which limited him last year does not require surgery, however, and King believes coach Andy Reid still thinks Berry can be “an impact safety.” Perhaps most importantly, cutting Berry would leave about $15 million in dead cap while creating just $1.5 million in space, making it worth keeping the safety around on the chance he returns to his All-Pro form.