Kansas City Chiefs: Realistic look at 2019 Chiefs roster – Version 2

The next big decision the Chiefs will have to make is what to do with Eric Berry.

In my last article, I kept Berry solely on the basis of being too emotionally attached to think about him not in a Chiefs uniform (or on the Chiefs sideline).

After recent events though, it appears that the most realistic scenario is the Chiefs releasing Eric Berry with the post-June first designation. This would save the Chiefs $9.55 million against the cap and increase the cap space to over $27.6 million.

What recent events lead me to believe he will be cut? Remember when Nate Taylor reported that Eric Berry wouldn’t need surgery? This, contrary to many fans’ beliefs, more than likely means he won’t be playing next season, not for the Chiefs anyways.

Some people mistakenly thought this meant he would be back 100% and ready to run the Chiefs defense this coming season; others, however, know that this really means a release is likely inevitably on its way.

Eric Berry was more than likely suggested to not have surgery because his team physical will be in March and, if he had surgery, he would obviously fail the physical. If he fails the physical his contract becomes fully guaranteed for the upcoming season and it would prevent the Chiefs from being able to release him and create additional cap space.

As sad as it may be, it seems like an ending of the Eric Berry era is nearing in Kansas City. He is a fan favorite and will undoubtedly be missed, but at this time the risk of paying Eric Berry $16.5 million this season seems to outweigh the reward of potentially having the best safety in the league.

Berry has only played three regular season games in the past two seasons, so the risk of him not being able to return to his pre-injury form is very real. While this does little to make it easier on a true Chiefs fan, it is probably going to happen, so we might as well start preparing ourselves.