Eric Berry continues to improve “every day” per the Kansas City Chiefs, but his status for Sunday is still unknown to the coaching staff.
A sore heel has been a sore subject for fans of the Kansas City Chiefs, who are itching to know whether or not Eric Berry, the team’s best overall defender and face of the franchise, will be available to play on Sunday when the regular season begins against the Los Angeles Chargers.
On Wednesday, the story regarding Berry’s injury remained the same as it has over the last several days and weeks—namely that there is no update. It’s possible that Berry plays. It’s also possible (even likely) that he sits as he’s continued to do since early in the team’s preseason when a sore heel became a lingering concern.
All along, head coach Andy Reid has insisted the team was going to be cautious with Berry, to do whatever they had to do to avoid further injury. Last year Berry had a sore heel and then ended up going down in Week 1 with an Achilles injury that kept him out for the final 15 games.
On Wednesday, Rick Burkholder, the team’s head athletic trainer, spoke to the media to give a full rundown of the team’s health coming into the start of the year. When it came to Berry he simply tried to be honest even with the question marks on everyone’s minds:
"“I know coach [Reid] has said that it’s “day to day,” and it is literally day-to-day. He won’t practice [Wednesday] but he’s spent a lot of time with us. He’s improving and getting better every day, and so we’ll continue with that process.”"
At this point everyone is left waiting—teammates, fans, coaches and even opposing players—wondering whether or not Berry will be ready. Given the injury to Sorensen as well, the team is already looking thin before the year even begins. If Berry can’t go, Ron Parker, Armani Watts and Eric Murray are the likely contestants to grab the starting safety slots in one way or another as the Chiefs deal with another year of injuries in the secondary.