Chiefs Contract Debate: Eric Fisher vs Eric Berry

2. Age

This one is kind of self explanatory. Eric Fisher is two years younger than Eric Berry and when you are talking about committing to a player over a five or six year period that matters. When Eric Fisher finishes this contract he’ll be 31. That’s still considered prime years for a good offensive lineman. If they gave Berry the same six year commitment he would be 33 at the end of the deal and that is getting old for a strong safety.

In today’s NFL any player can see his career cut short with a concussion or bad enough knee injury but in general we see offensive lineman more consistently play into their mid thirties at a starting level caliber than we do strong safeties. Physical players like Eric Berry eventually see their bodies break down.

Think about guys like Troy Palamalu and Bob Sanders. Eventually their bodies just couldn’t hold up to the punishment. Polamalu had to retire at 33 and Bob Sanders was done by the age of 30. Even a less physical hitter like Ed Reed barely hung on until the age of 34 before he had to hang them up. Meanwhile, four of the six Pro Bowl offensive tackles this past season were age 31 (the age Fisher will be at the end of this deal) or older.

This leads me into my final reason that Fisher is the better investment…

Next: Maybe the biggest factor...