Chiefs safety Eric Berry said Sunday that he doesn’t have high hopes that he and the team would agree to terms on a multi-year contract before the March 1 deadline to use the franchise tag.
A report from Ed Werder of ESPN makes it sound like Berry has good reason for pessimism on that front. Unless there’s a change in the next 48 hours, Werder reports that the expectation in Kansas City is that the team will use the tag on Berry for the second straight season.
Berry said in the past and again on Sunday that he will not play out the year under the tag, which would leave him in position to make around $13 million barring a long-term deal. The two sides would have until July 15 to work on such a contract.
Using the tag on Berry would mean the Chiefs couldn’t use it on defensive tackle Dontari Poe. Per Werder, the expectation is that the Chiefs would then let Poe hit free agency next month. Poe would likely find a good market for his services under that scenario and that could push his price out of range for the Chiefs to hold onto both of their free agent defensive stars.