At a time when the Chiefs have been unable to get a contract done with Eric Berry, they worked out a deal with Eric Fisher. On Saturday, coach Andy Reid explained the decision to pay Fisher with two years left on his rookie deal.
“It’s an important position -- they all are,” Reid told reporters on Saturday. “We have some good players here. Obviously, there are other guys who are going through contract things, so we’re fortunate to have a good football club, and Eric [Fisher] is one of them. So, keeping our offensive linemen intact is one of our goals, and he’s a big part of it.”
Reid believes Fisher, the first overall pick in 2013, finally began to figure things out in his third NFL season.
“I thought last year,” Reid said. “I thought he came back last year in great shape. I thought he continually got better last year. I still think he has plenty of room to improve. I think he will continue to do that. He has a good work ethic. He’s kind of grown up before our eyes. He was a young kid coming in from a small school and joined the National Football League. I know there are games he wished he could have back when he was young. He had a couple of injuries in there, but he persevered through it and he got rewarded.”
Fisher agrees that it took a while for him to get to the point where he earned a second contract.
“I’ve been through my ups and downs, but I’m putting this whole year and last year behind me,” Fisher said. “I’m only looking forward to the future. I’m having fun with it. It took me a while to adjust, to get comfortable. I’m feeling great right now, I’m feeling strong and confident. My head’s good and as a team, we’re out here looking forward to the future because we did some good things last year. Having basically the same group back this year we could do some special things around here.”
Fisher plans to be a major part of that.
“I’m setting high goals for myself,” Fisher said. “Now that I know I can do it, I’m feeling good doing it and I have some great guys around me. I really think the sky’s the limit for me. I just need to take one day at a time, one game at a time, one year at a time now. What an opportunity for myself, the things I can accomplish.”
The Chiefs under Reid have accomplished a pair of playoff berths. Overlooked by many who focus more on the Raiders and Broncos in the AFC West, the Chiefs have the players to get back to the playoffs. The question is whether they’re ready to progress past the divisional round for the first time since Joe Montana’s brief stay with the team.
