Kansas City Chiefs: Hopefully Chiefs have been paying attention

ERIC BERRY

The Chiefs are stuck with the veteran safety for another season. With the growing likelihood that Eric Berry will need surgery on his injured heel, his contract for next season will become fully guaranteed and make the cost of releasing him beyond prohibitive.

Designating Eric Berry as a post June 1st cut doesn’t make much sense for the Chiefs either. A post June 1st cut allows a team to spread a cap hit out over multiple seasons, but lessons the hit the team takes in that immediate season (which is why Jeremy Maclin still impacted the Chiefs 2018 salary cap). Two issues complicate that issue though.

First, the Chiefs in this case would see no cap savings until June 2nd. The team would need to carry his cap number through free agency and through the draft even though he technically would no longer be on the roster. Nothing is accomplished for cap savings in 2019 when the money would be needed the most.

As it stands, the Chiefs would find cap savings in 2019 (again, after June 2nd) of 9.55 million with dead cap hits in 2019 and hits in 2020 and 2021 of 4 million.

Secondly, and this is interesting. With the surgery, Berry might not pass his end of season physical. Failing that physical will result in his 2019 salary becoming fully guaranteed.

This happened with Dee Ford last year when after failing his physical saw his salary become fully guaranteed.  So, instead of saving 9.55 million, the Chiefs likely save only close to 2.3 million. That doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Eric Berry will be a Chief in 2019 unless he chooses to retire.