Kansas City Chiefs release safety Eric Berry
The Kansas City Chiefs opened the new league year with a bang, releasing safety Eric Berry. The now former Chiefs safety is officially a free agent.
Wow. Most Kansas City Chiefs fans expected to hear some news on Eric Berry, but the hope was that he’d be traded and the Chiefs could get something in return for him.
The news of releasing him isn’t too shocking, but at the same time, his sentimental value and the dead money (approximately $6 million) made it seem like he might stay put. With the team bringing in Tyrann Mathieu, however, the Chiefs obviously felt that it was time to part ways with their former first round pick.
Berry was great in his prime, but injury after injury prevented him from seeing the field. After he signed his massive contract after the 2016 season, he played in just three regular season games. That’s not going to cut it for the deal he was given.
We have released safety Eric Berry.https://t.co/WFABSnECVq
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) March 13, 2019
Berry finishes his Chiefs tenure with 379 tackles, 14 interceptions, and five and a half sacks. The guy was a baller when he was healthy and Chiefs fans will always admire him for his defeat over cancer.
Sometimes, however, it’s just time to move on and that’s what the Chiefs were forced to do. John Dorsey put them in cap hell (enjoy the ride now, Browns fans, you’ll be feeling it in a few years) and Berry’s contract was one of the worst in franchise history.
The Chiefs will now look for Mathieu, Eric Murray, Daniel Sorensen, and Jordan Lucas to hold it down at the safety position. Mathieu is younger than Berry and played in all 16 games last year. He should be a huge upgrade at the position and the Chiefs have him through his age 29 season.
The draft is also somewhere the Chiefs could grab a safety, but that’s not as likely now with Mathieu in town. They should continue upgrading the position, however, as Mathieu can’t do everything when he’s on the field.
Next. Mock Draft: Chiefs Address Secondary with First Two Picks. dark
Hopefully Berry hooks on with another team and does well elsewhere, but his time as a Chief is officially finished. Chiefs fans should look back at his career and be glad that he was a member of the team for as long as he was.
Berry was a proud Chief before it was cool to be a member of the Chiefs. We should all wish him the best with the next part of his playing career.