Chiefs Contract Debate: Eric Fisher vs Eric Berry

3. Health

Eric Fisher has had his fair amount of health issues in his first three seasons, but had his best year both on the field and health wise last season. I believe (and based on the contract it appears the Chiefs may agree) that these two things are related. Fisher seems to have finally developed the strength and conditioning needed to compete in the NFL. Fisher is a lean and athletic lineman. If you have read into his history much he converted to the offensive line in college from playing tight end and it was a challenge to add the necessary weight.

While packing on pounds eating pizza and cheeseburgers isn’t that hard (trust me, I know) getting up to 300 pounds mostly on muscle mass is not. Fisher chose to add weight the hard way (but the right way) and last season it paid off. He was no longer getting pushed around by defensive linemen and he was able to stay healthy all season and even had one of his best games in the playoff win against Houston going head to head with JJ Watt.

Eric Berry’s story of overcoming both a major knee injury and cancer and still playing at an elite level is inspiring. It’s part of why he is my favorite player. The guy just doesn’t know how to give any less than 110 percent. He plays with everything he has for every single minute that he’s on the field. While that’s why I love to watch him play it also makes his long term health more of a risk. Let’s put the cancer aside because I pray that it never returns and don’t even want to consider using it as an argument not to keep him.

Let’s just talk about a safety that sacrifices his body down after down every year playing into his thirties. Let’s talk about a 212 pound man that won’t hesitate to run full speed into an oncoming fullback or 300 pound lineman if that’s what it takes to blow up a play.

Eric Berry if a force of nature but he’s still human. His story is inspiring and I never want to have to see him play a single snap in any other uniform, but if I’m a business man and can only invest my money in one player for the next five or six years I don’t know that I feel that he is the safest option to invest in.

That’s a harsh reality given what he’s been through but the NFL is a business. Before you go feeling too bad for Berry remember that the Chiefs did make him the highest paid safety in the history of the NFL as a rookie and paid him his full salary when they didn’t have to when he was out battling cancer. The Chiefs have done right by Eric Berry but eventually they have to do what they believe is best for their franchise for the long term future.

So there you have it, Addicts. It wasn’t easy for me to write but that’s my case for why Eric Fisher is the better long term investment for the Kansas City Chiefs. I really hope that they can keep Eric Berry past this season but if they can’t work it out I won’t hold it against John Dorsey for deciding to invest in Eric Fisher. Do you agree or do you think the Chiefs have made a huge mistake? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!