Eric Berry ‘a bit surprised’ on lack of extension progress

[Quesadilla Joe]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl...e88612427.html

Spoiler!

Against the backdrop of approximately 352 kids laughing, jumping and playing on a humid summer night, Chiefs safety Eric Berry wore a smile on his face as he stood on the turf at North Kansas City High School and explained what he knew about his current contract status.

And Berry — who has until July 15 to get an extension done with the Chiefs, lest he play the 2016 under the one-year franchise tag — took a break from his sixth annual free youth football camp on Friday and made a few things clear.

One, he absolutely still wants to be a Chief for the long term.

And, two, yes, he is a bit surprised it’s taken so long for a new deal to get done.

“I thought it would progress a little bit more,” Berry said. “But it’s still been pretty much the same since the last time we talked. A lot can change in a week. A lot can change for whenever the deadline is.”

Berry’s surprise makes sense. Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said at the NFL’s annual meeting in March that he’s hopeful to get a long-term deal done with Berry, and that he’s “certainly” somebody that they “would like to be a Chief for a very, very long time.”

Hunt added that he got a sense that Berry shared the sentiment to stay, a notion the 27-year old Berry — who has spent the last seven years with the Chiefs — also said in March and repeated Friday.

“Obviously I’d love to be a Chief — I want to be a Chief long term, just because of the community, the staff, from top to bottom, the players and everything,” Berry said. “But sometimes things don’t go as planned, and I’m prepared for that, but hopefully it goes as planned, and I’m prepared for that, as well.”

If the Chiefs can’t reach a new deal with Berry before the July 15 deadline, Berry would have to play the 2016 season under the $10.8 million franchise tender. However, he could also hold off on signing the tender, which would allow him to skip training camp and the preseason and return shortly before the regular season and still collect his full $10.8 million salary.

Still, an extension is sensible for both sides. Although the franchise tender is good money (and guaranteed, too) Berry stands to collect far more guaranteed money with a new deal, as he has the same number of all-pro selections (two) and three more Pro Bowl selections (four) than the league’s highest-paid safety, Harrison Smith, who recently signed a five-year, $51.25 million pact with the Vikings that includes nearly $29 million guaranteed.

What’s more, assuming Berry agreed to a richer deal than Smith’s, the cash-strapped Chiefs — who have a league-low $226,818 in cap space. according to the NFL Players Association — would still stand to create a minimum of $3 million or so in cap room this year with an extension. Iit’s worth noting the team already has a significant amount of money committed to 2017 — upwards of $166 million, which already surpasses the 2016 cap number of $155 million.

The Chiefs also have the option of rescinding the tender on Berry, which would create $10.8 million in cap room. However, that would make one of their most popular — and more important — players an unrestricted free agent, which hardly seems like a reasonable option for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

“It’s a completely different atmosphere (without him),” said center Mitch Morse, who helped out at Berry’s camp on Friday. “I’ve only met a few people who, when they walk into a room full of people, that you feel their presence and people immediately shut up. He’s such a profound speaker, and he has profound things to say, and you inherently want to listen and gain knowledge. You respect the hell out of him.”

Berry, who fast-tracked his way back from a December 2014 diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma to return in time for the start of training camp last July, served as the emotional leader of the 2015 Chiefs, which rallied from a 1-5 start to win 11 straight games, including their first playoff win in 22 years.

He did it on the field too, as he looked quicker and faster than in previous seasons — he was back to playing at his college weight of 210 pounds — on the way to racking up 61 tackles, 10 pass deflections and two interceptions and make the Pro Bowl, be named an all-pro and win the NFL’s comeback player of the year award.

“He’s one of the main focal points of this team,” said Morse, whose comments have been parroted by several teammates, including quarterback Alex Smith. “He means a lot to Chiefs Kingdom, and he sure as hell means a lot to us, as players. We’re incomplete without him and we love the energy and passion he brings.”

Still, business is business, and Berry understands that. One of his closest friends on the team is outside linebacker Justin Houston, who was franchise-tagged in March 2015 after a 22-sack season and had to wait out the next several months as his agent, Joel Segal, and the Chiefs hammered out a six-year, $101 million extension right before the July 15 deadline.

“It’s crazy because I was talking to him when he was going through the exact same thing — it’s like roles have switched just a year later,” Berry said. “He just keeps telling me to be patient and control what I can control. So I gave him that advice, and he’s given me the same advice. That’s all I can do.”

So Berry, who has always believed in letting his work speak for himself, has spent the last several months training in Florida, getting ready for the season.

He looked trim and happy as he worked with the kids on Friday — the turnout was the best his camp in Kansas City has ever had, by the way — his trademark brown, red-tinged hair and goatee fluffy and full, a stark contrast to the way he looked last summer, even after his chemo treatments had long come to an end.

To be sure, Berry is grateful for that, a fact that came across as he spoke optimistically about his goals for the next several months, despite the uncertainty of his contract situation.

“I definitely want to get a ring, and I definitely want to be a Chief,” Berry said. “Hopefully, we can make that happen.”

And to be clear, Berry hasn’t lost faith, regardless of his surprise at the lack of recent progress.

“You know miracles happen — I’m a witness,” Berry said with a smile. “So it might go down to the wire, you know ... and hopefully they handle their end, and hopefully it comes together like it’s supposed to.”

[Tribal Warfare]

As I said before, this is why Dorsey selected the mass haul of DBs in the draft because Berry was being difficult

[Buns]

Any of you shits ever think he might only want to play one more year?

[Sandy Vagina]

Originally Posted by Virtua Chief

Any of you shits ever think he might only want to play one more year?

Seems unlikely, or he'd have jumped at signing his F-tag. Unless he just wants to sloth it out instead of working through TC and preseason.

No, seems Berry is just looking for as much guaranteed money as he can get. It's a shame, but he's not the first, won't be the last.

I think it's the smart move by Dorsey to play him on the tag and move on. He'll decline, and even if he doesn't, what he brings is simply not worth 12 mil or more per yr. This defense, if the pass rush is to its normal standards, will do the heavy lifting for the secondary.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Virtua Chief

Any of you shits ever think he might only want to play one more year?

If that was the case, then why negotiate at all?

Why not just sign the tender already?

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

The Chiefs should absolutely not pay for a $2 million dollar premium in the event that Berry's cancer returns. They paid Berry $2,625,000 dollars in 2014 that they were not obligated to pay when he was placed on the NFL list. That money could have been rolled over into 2015, giving them that much more cap space.

Why should they be required to pay out $2 million more in case Berry's cancer returns?

Clark made $220+ million from the NFL last year.

But hey that $2 million sure is a haul.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Clark made $220+ million from the NFL last year.

But hey that $2 million sure is a haul.

Why is the team's responsibility to take out disability insurance on the player?

Do you have a contract with your employer that provides disability insurance for you personally that would cover your salary for years to come?

If Berry doesn't have a life insurance policy, he's not eligible to apply until 5 years after his cancer went into remission.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Clark made $220+ million from the NFL last year.

But hey that $2 million sure is a haul.

Your extreme butthurt about this is strange.

Very similar to draft day when we didn't trade up for Lynch. Get a grip man.

[planetdoc]

Originally Posted by Sandy Cheeks

Yeah what? Chris is the prototypical 34DE. Don't expect him to man the middle in base D.

agree. I also think people are reading too much into the Chris Jones selection (i.e. that he was selected to replace a departing starter). There were rumours that the chiefs wanted to draft WR Laquon Treadwell and less credible rumors that the chiefs wanted QB Payton Lynch.

Dorsey said,

“We had some options to go up … but we feel like this is the best decision for us going forward.”

Dorsey, however, said the decision to trade down didn’t have anything to do with the loss of that third-round pick and added that they made the decision to trade down because two players — whom he declined to name — went before the Chiefs’ pick.

If anyone is going to replace Poe at NT in 2017, than it would be Jay Howard.
If Poe is franchised in 2017, than both his and Howard's contract could be up for the 2018 season.

http://espn.go.com/blog/kansas-city-...-dorseys-style

Originally Posted by Dorsey

“A personnel guy is always building for the future,’’ general manager John Dorsey said. “He’s always looking two or three years down the road. Let’s make no mistake about that. Because if you are to be any good and sustain any degree of success and you build through the draft, you have to think two and three years down the road.’’

Chris Jones was likely drafted because he was the BPA, but Dorsey could have also been thinking about the 2017 and 2018 season when much of the Dline starters and backups have contracts up.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by staylor26

Your extreme butthurt about this is strange.

Very similar to draft day when we didn't trade up for Lynch. Get a grip man.

Sorry I don't agree with every single thing this regime does like you.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Why is the team's responsibility to take out disability insurance on the player?

Do you have a contract with your employer that provides disability insurance for you personally that would cover your salary for years to come?

If Berry doesn't have a life insurance policy, he's not eligible to apply until 5 years after his cancer went into remission.

They do pay a certain %, though I'm not sure how much. Only thing I know is they pay disability for 6 weeks for maternity leave.

Chiefs should pay the $2 million premium but put themselves as the beneficiary. Make his contract incentive based for the first 2 or 3 years, that way if his cancer returns, the team won't be liable financially or with PR.
Frontload the gauranteed $$ so that he's happy and if he gets cancer later on, we're off the hook.

That could have been discussed and we don't know. Just what I would do

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by RunKC

They do pay a certain %, though I'm not sure how much. Only thing I know is they pay disability for 6 weeks for maternity leave.

Chiefs should pay the $2 million, but make his contract incentive based for the first 2 or 3 years, that way if his cancer returns, the team won't be liable financially or with PR.
Front load the gauranteed $$ so that he's happy and if he gets cancer later one, we're off the hook.

That could have been discussed and we don't know. Just what I would do

Reportedly, the Chiefs and Berry's camp were never close on the parameters of a deal, so I seriously doubt that the disability insurance was *the* deal breaker.

Either way, $11 million or $12 million per year is way too much money to invest in a safety.

It's just not a topline position.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Sorry I don't agree with every single thing this regime does like you.

You're the same way for the most part, you just pick some really silly shit to get upset about.

Doesn't make you any better. At least I'm consistent.

For the record, I don't agree with every single thing this regime does. I just realized a long time ago that Dorsey knows a hell of a lot more than I do, so even when I disagree I give him the benefit of the doubt.

I'm upset that the Berry deal didn't get done, but it's pretty ****ing obvious which side is being unreasonable. I trust that Dorsey's final offer was more than a fair deal, as Berry is a guy they would obviously want to keep around and happy.

[RunKC]

I don't think Dorsey drafted to replace Berry in April. Russell seems like an insurance policy for Gaines being hurt and Murray seems like a replacement for Abdullah.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by staylor26

You're the same way for the most part, you just pick some really silly shit to get upset about.

Doesn't make you any better. At least I'm consistent.

For the record, I don't agree with every single thing this regime does. I just realized a long time ago that Dorsey knows a hell of a lot more than I do, so even when I disagree I give him the benefit of the doubt.

I'm upset that the Berry deal didn't get done, but it's pretty ****ing obvious which side is being unreasonable. I trust that Dorsey's final offer was more than a fair deal, as Berry is a guy they would obviously want to keep around and happy.

Dorsey has done a good job for the most part, but every GM makes mistakes.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Dorsey has done a good job for the most part, but every GM makes mistakes.

I agree, but not trading up for Lynch and not getting a deal done with Berry were not "mistakes".

Not spending a draft pick on a box safety? Now that was a mistake, but hindsight is 20/20, and we still have one more offseason to get that guy.

Who knows? Maybe Shakiel Randolph is that guy. And maybe they intend on playing two ILB's (DJ and March) more often.