Chiefs apply franchise tag to Eric Berry

The Kansas City Chiefs have applied the franchise tag to safety Eric Berry.

in a move that many have anticipated for weeks, Chiefs general manager John Dorsey has applied the franchise tag to safety Eric Berry. The cost of the tag will be $10.8 million, lowing Kansas City’s cap space to $22.2 million going into free agency, which begins March 9.

It is the non-exclusive tag, which means that a team could negotiate with Berry and offer him a deal. The Chiefs would have the right to match, and if they didn’t, would receive two first-round draft picks.

Dorsey also released the following statement about Berry, per Chiefs.com:

"“Our goal is to keep Eric in Kansas City for the foreseeable future,” Chiefs General Manager John Dorsey said. “He’s a special player that means a lot to our organization, the city, and has been a critical piece in building our foundation. With today being the deadline to use the franchise tag, we felt it was in the best interest of the club to place the tag on Eric.”"

Kansas City could work out a long-term deal with berry before then and lower his cap hit, but that does not typically happen in these situations. The Chiefs are much more likely to get a deal done with Berry around the July 15 deadline, much like they did with Justin Houston a year ago.

This is a tough move for the Chiefs, who lose a ton of cap space. While Berry is certainly worth a franchise tag and keeping him was the right move, a long-term deal would probably have left Kansas City with a $3-4 million cap hit this season. By doing this, it is almost certain that either Sean Smith or Jaye Howard walk, if not both.

Berry, 27, is the inspirational leader for this group both on and off the field. Berry was diagnosed in Dec. 2014 with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, only to beat the disease and show up to training camp on time in August. Berry did not miss a game or practice in 2015, earning First-Team All-Pro honors and a fourth trip to the Pro Bowl.