Kansas City Chiefs: Realistic look at 2019 Chiefs roster

The Future of Eric Berry

The next big decision the Chiefs will have to make is what to do with Eric Berry. This one is an even tougher decision than Houston for me, as I’m sure it is for a lot of Chiefs fans.

Eric Berry has given so much to this organization and is arguably the best safety in the league when healthy, but he has only played three games in the past two seasons. Although he may be the best safety in the league when healthy, the question that still looms is: will he ever get back to that form?

My heart tells me that they should keep him, hoping he can return to his old self, but in order to keep him and afford the other guys already discussed, Eric Berry’s contract would have to be looked at. Restructuring his current contract would save the Chiefs $8.6 million this season. However, unless he is willing to take a pay cut, this will push a lot of the money owed to him down the road and more than likely create some more difficulty with finances down the road.

The other option would be to cut or trade him post-June first, which would save $9.5 million and $12.5 million respectively according to Over the Cap. Since it hurt too much to think about Berry not in a Chiefs uniform next season, in my final roster that you will see on the next slide, I will be assuming that KC restructured his contract in order to keep him. It is worth keeping in mind, though, that the other options could save even more money.

This is the last of the really tough decisions for the Chiefs, but it is not the last of the cuts. In my roster I had them cutting Daniel Sorensen post-June first, which saves about $3.7 million against the cap. Also, cutting Chad Henne and using Chase Litton or EJ Manuel as the backup quarterback would save $1,055,000 and $775,000 (this is assuming the Chiefs sign Manuel for $775,000) respectively.

Cutting Reggie Ragland is also an option, as he will likely be restricted to backing up Anthony Hitchens at middle linebacker in the Chiefs new 4-3 scheme. Cutting Ragland would save just over $1.2 million this season, but as you will see in my roster, I decided to hang onto him.

Lastly, the Chiefs will have to pass on re-signing most of the rest of their free agents. Some notable free agents the Chiefs will have to let walk are Mitch Morse, Steven Nelson, Allen Bailey, and possibly a sizable list of other players from the 2018 roster.

All of these moves along with a few other small signings leaves the Chiefs with almost $30 million in cap space. Dee Ford’s franchise tag should easily fit into this. Assuming it will be around the $18,653,000 that over the cap predicts the defensive end franchise tag amount to be, the Chiefs should be able to franchise tag him and still have enough cap space left to finish off their roster.