Is an Eric Berry contract deal on the way?
The Kansas City Chiefs are reportedly “ramping up” their contract talks with Pro Bowl safety, Eric Berry, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
While #Panthers & #Broncos prepare for #SB50, teams doing business: #Chiefs ramping up talks with Eric Berry for an extension, for instance.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 3, 2016
This is good news for Chiefs fans and it is not particularly unexpected. Kansas City has a number of high-profile free agents this offseason, with Berry having perhaps the highest profile.
Signing Berry is the right move. As much as we here at AA love guys like Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali, they are nearing the end of their careers whereas Berry still has plenty of productive NFL season ahead of him. Simply put, Berry is the future.
As Pro Football Talk notes, Seahawks safety Earl Thomas is currently the NFL’s highest-paid safety at $10 million per-year. I’m not sure Berry will get quite that much but I am sure his agent will try. And why not? After returning from battling cancer, Berry has arguably his most impressive season as a pro in 2015.
In all likelihood, Berry will be back in Kansas City in 2016. Unfortunately, his return could mean the departure of veteran CB, Sean Smith, who is bound to get multiple lucrative offers from teams looking to improve their secondaries. Smith is in his prime at age 28 and this is will probably be his last big contract. I am sure the Chiefs would like to keep Smith but the market may just be too competitive for Kansas City to afford.
What do you think, Addicts? Is keeping EB over Sean Smith (potentially) the right move?