Eric Berry expected to miss Ravens game, but play vs. Chargers
Chiefs safety Eric Berry won’t make his 2018 debut just yet, according to Adam Schefter. However, it could come in five days.
Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry has been out of action since the fourth quarter of the NFL kickoff game in Foxborough when the Chiefs stunned the New England Patriots to open up the 2017 NFL season. Including the wild-card playoff game against the Tennessee Titans last season, Berry has missed the last 28 games for the Chiefs.
Unfortunately, the number is expected to extend to 29. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Saturday night that Berry is expected to miss Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Chiefs fans have had to wait a very long time for Berry’s return. The good news is that Berry is expected to play in five days when the Chiefs play host to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football to open up Week 15, according to Schefter.
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By this point, Berry will have missed 29 total games with the Chiefs, which is the length of almost two regular seasons. While Berry is an All-Pro safety, any top-notch player who misses 29 games will need a game or two before they return to their elite form.
Berry is a good example of this. After missing 15 games in 2011 due to a torn ACL, Berry was not the same immediately in his return in 2012. The same thing can be said when he stepped away in 2014 due to Hodgkin’s lymphoma as he was slow to return to his Pro Bowl form in 2015.
Similar comparisons can be made for former Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles in his 2012 return, as well as outside linebacker Justin Houston when he returned in 2015. Both Charles and Houston missed significant time due to an injury. When they returned, it took them at least one or two games before proving why they are one of the best at their respective positions.
For Berry, it will be key for him to return in Week 15 against the Chargers. Starting with that game, Berry can spend the last three weeks of the regular season getting acclimated after his 29 missed games.
By the time the playoffs start, Berry will play like one of the best safeties in the league, as he has throughout his career. Having a bye week in the playoffs will only help Berry with the Chiefs come postseason time.