Good morning, Addicts! The Kansas City Chiefs finally made some news on Tuesday afternoon, with word coming down that general manager John Dorsey decided to use the non-exclusive franchise tag on safety Eric Berry. Berry’s tag is valued at $10.8 million and will have the entire number count against the cap provided no long-term extension is reached.
For Kansas City, the focus now turns to Tamba Hali. Dorsey has until March 4 to work out a deal with Hali, or the star automatically counts as $4 million against the salary cap. Other free agents who will hit the market without a new pact by March 9 include Sean Smith, Jaye Howard, Jeff Allen, Husain Abdullah and others.
Here is the news you need to know…
Chiefs trying to get deal done with Derrick Johnson – Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk
"After missing nearly all of 2014 due to an Achilles tear, Johnson bounced back with a great season last year for the Chiefs. He finished with 116 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. It was the fifth time in his last six seasons that he’s posted 100 tackles in a season."
Kansas City attempting to re-sign Tamba Hali – CJ Daley of HNGN.com
"Hali is 32 and has barely missed a game. In Hali’s career he has only missed five out of 176 games, which is absolutely unimaginable. He has amassed 553 combined tackles, 86 sacks, a safety, 13 pass defenses, 2 interceptions, and 32 forced fumbles."
Chiefs place franchise tag on Eric Berry – Adam Teicher of ESPN
"Things progressed in stages from there. Berry quickly was allowed to participate in contact drills, earned his starting spot back and — over the last several games of the season — played as well as he had at any time before his illness."