Five contracts that will shape the Kansas City Chiefs offseason

Justin Houston & Eric Berry

Justin Houston and Eric Berry are two historic Kansas City Chiefs who have been at the center of the defense during Andy Reid’s time in Kansas City. Unfortunately, injuries have kept them from both being on the field and performing at the elite levels they once did. These two foundational defenders now find themselves at a crossroads in their respective careers.

Will they be able to sustain a still productive career in their 30s or will their age and injuries prove too much to overcome? Only time will tell, but unfortunately for the Chiefs, they will have to make a financial decision on these men before they take the field again to prove themselves.

Both Houston and Berry are under contract with the Chiefs so officially they don’t have to do anything with them. However, doing nothing means making a major decision about their value because the two men will combine for a total of $37.6 million in cap space next season.

Justin Houston is due to have a $21.1 million cap hit next season. If he was cut today the Chiefs would eat $7.1 million in dead money but save $14 million. Eric Berry is set to have a $16.5 million cap hit next year. It would make no sense to cut him today because they would eat most of that in dead money. However, if they cut him after June 1st, they would save $9.5 million next season.

The other option you often hear fans discuss is renegotiating their deals. While that is an option, it’s not always as good for the team as fans think. No player in their right mind is just going to give away guaranteed money they got in a contract. What they will do is agree to push that guaranteed money back into later years. That does help the team’s cap situation this season but it only creates a bigger problem in years to come.

When you push that guaranteed money into future years you make it harder to release those players. The Chiefs got themselves into that exact situation with Tamba Hali a couple years ago and they ended up paying him much more than he was worth at that point in his career because they pushed the money back and then couldn’t cut him without just eating those contract dollars.

Given the age and injury history of both Berry and Houston, guaranteeing their full salary for the seasons beyond 2019 seems like a bad long term investment, especially with Mahomes’ big deal looming. Let me put it this way. If K.C. was able to handle Houston’s huge cap number this year, they could cut him after next season and only have to deal with $1.5 million in dead money. However, let’s say they take $10 million of his money this year and push it to next year. Now they’d have to eat $11.5 million in dead money next year to cut him. If Houston’s play declines more this season they’re now that much worse off for 2020.

So the Chiefs have to decide soon what they want to do with these two aging stars. Can they handle their massive cap hits? Is Justin Houston a guy Steve Spagnuolo wants for his defense in 2019? Will Eric Berry be able to get back on the field next season? Does cutting them leave too many holes in the defense and not enough cap dollars saved to make it worth it? Is renegotiating an option or does that just hurt them more down the road? These aren’t easy decisions but they are definitely ones that will have a major impact on the Chiefs strategy this offseason.

Finally, let’s talk about the one player that could receive the franchise tag.