The Kansas City Chiefs may end up using the franchise tag on Eric Berry once again, but the All-Pro safety has been adamant that he will not sign the tender if that happens.
The Chiefs have big decisions to make with both Berry and star defensive lineman Dontari Poe, and ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that they will use the franchise tag on Berry and let Poe test free agency if neither player is signed to a long-term deal before Wednesday.
Current expectation is that unless they sign one of them next 48 hours, #Chiefs will franchise tag Eric Berry and let Dontari Poe be UFA
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) February 27, 2017
Berry played under the franchise tag in 2016, and he made his fifth Pro Bowl and was named a first-team All-Pro for the second consecutive season. The 28-year-old said at the Super Bowl that he will sit out all of 2017 if he is not signed to a long-term deal, and he was very blunt when asked over the weekend if he has changed his mind.
“No I haven’t,” Berry said, via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. “I still stand firm on that.”
Berry would be guaranteed a salary of nearly $13 million if he played under the tag again, but that is not something he intends to do. He also isn’t getting his hopes up that a resolution with the Chiefs will be reached.
“I’m going to keep being patient because you never know,” Berry added. “Last year I thought one thing and it didn’t happen. So I’m not getting my hopes up; I’m looking at it logically.”
Teams have until March 1 to apply the franchise tag, though using it does not rule out the possibility of a long-term extension. If the Chiefs tag Berry again, the two sides would have until July 15 to work out a deal. At that point, Berry would either need to sign a contract or sit out.
This is not the first time we have seen a star player threaten to sit out a season, and it happened not too long ago with a Super Bowl MVP. The two sides almost always come to an agreement, and we expect that to happen with Berry and the Chiefs.
