Eric Berry ‘a bit surprised’ on lack of extension progress

[Quesadilla Joe]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl...e88612427.html

Spoiler!

Against the backdrop of approximately 352 kids laughing, jumping and playing on a humid summer night, Chiefs safety Eric Berry wore a smile on his face as he stood on the turf at North Kansas City High School and explained what he knew about his current contract status.

And Berry — who has until July 15 to get an extension done with the Chiefs, lest he play the 2016 under the one-year franchise tag — took a break from his sixth annual free youth football camp on Friday and made a few things clear.

One, he absolutely still wants to be a Chief for the long term.

And, two, yes, he is a bit surprised it’s taken so long for a new deal to get done.

“I thought it would progress a little bit more,” Berry said. “But it’s still been pretty much the same since the last time we talked. A lot can change in a week. A lot can change for whenever the deadline is.”

Berry’s surprise makes sense. Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said at the NFL’s annual meeting in March that he’s hopeful to get a long-term deal done with Berry, and that he’s “certainly” somebody that they “would like to be a Chief for a very, very long time.”

Hunt added that he got a sense that Berry shared the sentiment to stay, a notion the 27-year old Berry — who has spent the last seven years with the Chiefs — also said in March and repeated Friday.

“Obviously I’d love to be a Chief — I want to be a Chief long term, just because of the community, the staff, from top to bottom, the players and everything,” Berry said. “But sometimes things don’t go as planned, and I’m prepared for that, but hopefully it goes as planned, and I’m prepared for that, as well.”

If the Chiefs can’t reach a new deal with Berry before the July 15 deadline, Berry would have to play the 2016 season under the $10.8 million franchise tender. However, he could also hold off on signing the tender, which would allow him to skip training camp and the preseason and return shortly before the regular season and still collect his full $10.8 million salary.

Still, an extension is sensible for both sides. Although the franchise tender is good money (and guaranteed, too) Berry stands to collect far more guaranteed money with a new deal, as he has the same number of all-pro selections (two) and three more Pro Bowl selections (four) than the league’s highest-paid safety, Harrison Smith, who recently signed a five-year, $51.25 million pact with the Vikings that includes nearly $29 million guaranteed.

What’s more, assuming Berry agreed to a richer deal than Smith’s, the cash-strapped Chiefs — who have a league-low $226,818 in cap space. according to the NFL Players Association — would still stand to create a minimum of $3 million or so in cap room this year with an extension. Iit’s worth noting the team already has a significant amount of money committed to 2017 — upwards of $166 million, which already surpasses the 2016 cap number of $155 million.

The Chiefs also have the option of rescinding the tender on Berry, which would create $10.8 million in cap room. However, that would make one of their most popular — and more important — players an unrestricted free agent, which hardly seems like a reasonable option for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

“It’s a completely different atmosphere (without him),” said center Mitch Morse, who helped out at Berry’s camp on Friday. “I’ve only met a few people who, when they walk into a room full of people, that you feel their presence and people immediately shut up. He’s such a profound speaker, and he has profound things to say, and you inherently want to listen and gain knowledge. You respect the hell out of him.”

Berry, who fast-tracked his way back from a December 2014 diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma to return in time for the start of training camp last July, served as the emotional leader of the 2015 Chiefs, which rallied from a 1-5 start to win 11 straight games, including their first playoff win in 22 years.

He did it on the field too, as he looked quicker and faster than in previous seasons — he was back to playing at his college weight of 210 pounds — on the way to racking up 61 tackles, 10 pass deflections and two interceptions and make the Pro Bowl, be named an all-pro and win the NFL’s comeback player of the year award.

“He’s one of the main focal points of this team,” said Morse, whose comments have been parroted by several teammates, including quarterback Alex Smith. “He means a lot to Chiefs Kingdom, and he sure as hell means a lot to us, as players. We’re incomplete without him and we love the energy and passion he brings.”

Still, business is business, and Berry understands that. One of his closest friends on the team is outside linebacker Justin Houston, who was franchise-tagged in March 2015 after a 22-sack season and had to wait out the next several months as his agent, Joel Segal, and the Chiefs hammered out a six-year, $101 million extension right before the July 15 deadline.

“It’s crazy because I was talking to him when he was going through the exact same thing — it’s like roles have switched just a year later,” Berry said. “He just keeps telling me to be patient and control what I can control. So I gave him that advice, and he’s given me the same advice. That’s all I can do.”

So Berry, who has always believed in letting his work speak for himself, has spent the last several months training in Florida, getting ready for the season.

He looked trim and happy as he worked with the kids on Friday — the turnout was the best his camp in Kansas City has ever had, by the way — his trademark brown, red-tinged hair and goatee fluffy and full, a stark contrast to the way he looked last summer, even after his chemo treatments had long come to an end.

To be sure, Berry is grateful for that, a fact that came across as he spoke optimistically about his goals for the next several months, despite the uncertainty of his contract situation.

“I definitely want to get a ring, and I definitely want to be a Chief,” Berry said. “Hopefully, we can make that happen.”

And to be clear, Berry hasn’t lost faith, regardless of his surprise at the lack of recent progress.

“You know miracles happen — I’m a witness,” Berry said with a smile. “So it might go down to the wire, you know ... and hopefully they handle their end, and hopefully it comes together like it’s supposed to.”

[BleedingRed]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Your stupid ass will be banned again soon, houstonwhodat.

Dude, stop being such a cuckold. I understand you're a upset liberal moron but, don't take it out on me that you wife likes other "meat"

[BleedingRed]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

He did not play at an All Pro level.

3.5 tackles a game and 2 Int's in 16 games aren't stellar numbers.

It was an honorary nod due to the cancer.

Lmao you are a ****ing idiot

[kcchiefsus]

Originally Posted by BleedingRed

Dude, stop being such a cuckold. I understand you're a upset liberal moron but, don't take it out on me that you wife likes other "meat"

[TRR]

I think we all appreciate Berry and what he brings to the Defense. What he brings is simply different than what most of us expected of him when he was drafted...a playmaker with elite ball skills, with the ability to run with slot receivers and man up on tight ends. Instead KC got an in the box safety that is consistent in the intermediate passing game.

Berry brings an intensity that is hard to match, and you know he's a great leader on and off the field. You even saw moments of what he showed in college last season playing at a lighter weight. But I don't believe he's worth ELITE money.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by BleedingRed

Dude, stop being such a cuckold. I understand you're a upset liberal moron but, don't take it out on me that you wife likes other "meat"

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by BleedingRed

Lmao you are a ****ing idiot

Your football IQ is -160.

While that's higher than your overall IQ, you're ****ing cluesless and constantly fail to counter with a argument.

In other words, you're an assclown.

[RealSNR]

What's with this cuckold shit? BleedingRed is like a giddy 13-year old who just learned a new "adult" word, even though he doesn't know what it means

[ThaVirus]

We've lined this guy up at SS, FS, CB, and LB- he's played well at each and every position- and somehow he just isn't good enough. Receives first-team All-Pro honors at SS and FS- he's no Ed Reed! For God's sake, one poster was talking about lining him up at LOLB to replace Houston down the stretch!

The concerns about a lack of INTs are overblown. Taking a look at the careers of each of the top safeties in the league today, none of them fare particularly well against Berry in that regard. Throwing out any season in which the player didn't play at least 10 games in a season, Earl Thomas averages 3.5 INTs a season. Kam Chancellor averages 1.7 INTs per season. Harrison Smith averages 3.3 INTs per season. Reshad Jones averages 2.5 INTs per season. Tyrann Mathieu and Devin Mccourty (who both play a shit ton of CB and are really not a good comparison) average 2.7 and 3 INTs per season respectively.

Eric Berry averages 2.5 INTs per season. What's the difference?

Just say putting $10+m into a safety position isn't the best use of resources, because trying to argue against the guy's ability is just asinine.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

We've lined this guy up at SS, FS, CB, and LB- he's played well at each and every position- and somehow he just isn't good enough. Receives first-team All-Pro honors at SS and FS- he's no Ed Reed! For God's sake, one poster was talking about lining him up at LOLB to replace Houston down the stretch!

The concerns about a lack of INTs are overblown. Taking a look at the careers of each of the top safeties in the league today, none of them fair particularly well against Berry in that regard. Throwing out any season in which the player didn't play at least 10 games in a season, Earl Thomas averages 3.5 INTs a season. Kam Chancellor averages 1.7 INTs per season. Harrison Smith averages 3.3 INTs per season. Reshad Jones averages 2.5 INTs per season. Tyrann Mathieu and Devin Mccourty (who both play a shit ton of CB and are really not a good comparison average 2.7 and 3 INTs per season respectively.

Eric Berry averages 2.5 INTs per season. What's the difference?

Just say putting $10+m into a safety position isn't the best use of resources, because trying to argue against the guy's ability is just asinine.

Absolutely this.

Nobody said Rodney Hudson wasn't wanted on the team. It was when his potential new contract started approaching 8 figures that we said, "That's too much. Have a nice life."

Berry means so much to so many players on this team. All the trust and good mojo that Dorsey has built with the current players on the team and around the league would take a pretty big hit if we were to remove the tag. It might even take a small hit if we are only able to get him to sign the tender without a long-term deal.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

We've lined this guy up at SS, FS, CB, and LB- he's played well at each and every position- and somehow he just isn't good enough. Receives first-team All-Pro honors at SS and FS- he's no Ed Reed! For God's sake, one poster was talking about lining him up at LOLB to replace Houston down the stretch!

The concerns about a lack of INTs are overblown. Taking a look at the careers of each of the top safeties in the league today, none of them fair particularly well against Berry in that regard. Throwing out any season in which the player didn't play at least 10 games in a season, Earl Thomas averages 3.5 INTs a season. Kam Chancellor averages 1.7 INTs per season. Harrison Smith averages 3.3 INTs per season. Reshad Jones averages 2.5 INTs per season. Tyrann Mathieu and Devin Mccourty (who both play a shit ton of CB and are really not a good comparison average 2.7 and 3 INTs per season respectively.

Eric Berry averages 2.5 INTs per season. What's the difference?

Just say putting $10+m into a safety position isn't the best use of resources, because trying to argue against the guy's ability is just asinine.

[milkman]

In today's NFL, Ed Reed would not be Ed Reed.

That said, at some point, the price tag is just too expensive, and we are almost certainly at that point.

[notorious]

It's going to be a great story when the Chiefs win the Superbowl and Berry is MVP.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by notorious

It's going to be a great story when the Chiefs win the Superbowl and Berry is MVP.

Would create far more drama if it were Alex Smiff.

I think, if it were my choice, I'd like to see Jamaal win SB MVP with us and then retire and ride off into the sunset Jerome Bettis style (except for the fact that JC's actually amazing unlike Bettis).

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by milkman

In today's NFL, Ed Reed would not be Ed Reed.

That said, at some point, the price tag is just too expensive, and we are almost certainly at that point.

This is a good point. Safety play across the league seems to be down significantly over the last decade or so.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Would create far more drama if it were Alex Smiff.

I think, if it were my choice, I'd like to see Jamaal win SB MVP with us and then retire and ride off into the sunset Jerome Bettis style (except for the fact that JC's actually amazing unlike Bettis).

It doesn't matter to me. If a Chief is MVP that means they won!