The plans for Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry to get surgery this offseason for his Haglund’s deformity is not happening after getting a second opinion.
Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs got some surprising news yesterday afternoon during Andy Reid‘s press conference with local reporters. Per Nate Taylor of the Athletic, Eric Berry will not be getting surgery this offseason on his heel.
Andy Reid seemed confident that Berry would return healthy this summer for offseason workouts now that he was informed surgery on his heel would not be required. Most fans will find that hard to believe after Berry missed the entirety of the 2017 season after tearing his Achilles in Week 1 against the New England Patriots. He then followed that up this season by only participating in three games.
Missing 29 games is a lot for a player set to make $16.5 million this season. At this point, it is fair for fans to wonder if he is apart of the Chiefs future plans. With a free agent market filled with names like Landon Collins, Adrian Amos, Tre Boston, Tyrann Mathieu, Lamarcus Joyner, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix it would financially make sense to move on from a player that has not been available for the majority of the past two years.
Cutting Berry would not recoup the entirety of the $16.5 million that he is owed this year, but if Kansas City decided to designate him a June first cut they would get back $9.55 million in cap space. At this point it is hard for fans to rely on Berry, the man is a legend in Kansas City and always will be after coming back from Hodgkins Lymphoma.
At some point, general manager Brett Veach has to wonder whether or not Berry’s body can continue to keep up with the grind that is the NFL. As things are right now it looks like Kansas City and Berry could be heading for a messy divorce this offseason. Hopefully, Veach can figure out a way to keep a legend on the roster as the Chiefs attempt another Super Bowl run.