Like everyone in the world not currently under contract with the Chiefs, safety Eric Berry isn’t employed by the Chiefs. But that hasn’t stopped the Chiefs from holding a prominent spot for him.
The Chiefs have made Berry the starting strong safety on the team’s initial depth chart.
Berry continues to be absent from camp, and for good reason. He has yet to sign his one-year, $10.8 million franchise tender. The current thinking is that, in the days preceding the regular-season opener, Berry will show up, sign the tender, and collect and cash every $635,000 check.
The only risk for Berry is that the Chiefs could rescind the franchise tag, something coach Andy Reid did not once but twice during his time with the Eagles, stripping the tender from linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and defensive tackle Corey Simon. With the Chiefs putting Berry at the top of the depth chart even though he hasn’t been employed by the team since the 2015 season ends, a repeat of that maneuver looks unlikely.
Recent comments from owner Clark Hunt mesh with the idea that the Chiefs remain all in with Berry, even if he plans to show up with no offseason program, training camp, or preseason and still make more money than any true safety in the NFL.
"[W]e were disappointed to not be able to reach a long-term contract with Eric,” Hunt told reporters. “He’s somebody we think very highly of. He’s been a great player on the field. He does so much in the community. He’s a team leader. We certainly look forward to having him be a part of the team in 2016. And as soon as we have an opportunity next year, we’ll sit down with his representatives and see if we can work out a scenario where he can finish his career here.”
Here’s the problem for the Chiefs, come 2016. The rules of the tag will cause Berry’s 2017 franchise tender to spike by 20 percent, to $12.96 million -- more than the $12.5 million per year in “new money” paid to Tyrann Mathieu, a hybrid safety/cover corner. That will be the starting point for a long-term deal, which could result in Berry’s value being determined not by the tag but by the open market.
Regardless, it appears that the Chiefs don’t intend to send Berry to the open market in August by taking away the franchise tag.
