Tyrann Mathieu’s arrival likely means Eric Berry’s exit
Posted by Mike Florio on March 11, 2019, 11:09 PM EDT
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The Chiefs will be paying $14 million per year over three years to safety Tyrann Mathieu. They also are paying $13 million per year to safety Eric Berry. For now.
The arrival of Mathieu likely means that Berry will be gone, a development that wouldn’t surprise many due to the injuries that have plagued Berry over the past two years. Berry has played in only three games since rupturing an Achilles tendon in Week One of the 2017 season.
Already owed $2.95 million in guaranteed money for 2019, another $7.25 million of Berry’s base salary becomes fully guaranteed on March 15. Which means that, if the Chiefs will be pulling the plug on Berry’s deal, they need to do it sooner than later.
Cutting Berry without a post-June 1 designation would trigger a $14.95 million cap charge for 2019. Of that amount $8 million could be pushed to 2020 by using the post-June 1 designation.
Keeping Berry would result in a cap charge of $16.5 million, and a cash expenditure of $12.5 million. Which makes it very difficult to justify keeping him on the roster, especially with so much invested in Mathieu. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chris Meck:
I said in like week 3 or 4 last season that he was done playing meaningful football, and a bunch of you jumped down my ass about it.
Not super happy I was right, but it appears I was.
I am SUPER happy you were right. Fuck that guy and all the blindfolded marshmallows who kept trying to string everyone along on their jizz rope of hope.
And SUPER fuck all those idiots who claimed we were better with him on the field last year. News Flash: We were not. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 58-4ever:
I wonder if Veach would bring EB back on the contract they offered Earl Thomas? 1 year, 12 Million. Prove that your spirit is back, or some shit...
Fuck no, seems no other team is to high on not feeling it in my spirit bdb. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 58-4ever:
I wonder if Veach would bring EB back on the contract they offered Earl Thomas? 1 year, 12 Million. Prove that your spirit is back, or some shit...
Clark ate a lot of shit on the cut, so I think his bridges are burnt here. Still pretty surprised it happened, but good riddance. [Reply]
Why he remains unsigned: Berry ruptured his Achilles against the Patriots in Week 1 of the 2017 season and did not return until Week 15 in 2018. Berry played three games last season, including the AFC championship game against the Patriots, but the Chiefs released him in March shortly after signing former Cardinals and Texans safety Tyrann Mathieu. Berry’s release meant he didn’t count against any team’s compensatory formula from the moment he was cut, and his continued unemployment suggests teams are concerned about his Achilles. In addition to the usual challenges associated with an Achilles recovery, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Berry was diagnosed with Haglund’s deformity, a bone spur that digs into the Achilles tendon that creates a pain-tolerance issue, on his other leg.
Where he should go: At this stage of his career, Berry may be more valuable as a veteran locker room leader and mentor than a reliable week-to-week option.
The Chargers have two of the most promising young safeties in football in 2018 first-round pick Derwin James and 2019 second-round selection Nasir Adderley. Berry could step into a part-coach, part-teammate role in Los Angeles.
Where he will go: Berry was the highest-paid safety in football entering this offseason, so perhaps the Chiefs would bring him back on a cheaper contract and he could finish his career with the team that drafted him.