Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry has played on the franchise tag once, and he does not want to do it again.
Berry told Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star that he is fully prepared to sit out the 2017 season if the Chiefs try to tag him again.
“I’ll just take that time to chill with my family, honestly, I’ll sit the season out,” Berry said. “I just want what’s right. That’s it.
“I’m out, I’m out … I’m out. I’m just prepared mentally and emotionally to do what I need to do.”
Berry wanted a long-term deal last offseason, and he used it as motivation when he ultimately didn’t get it.
“It didn’t consume me, I just looked at it like ‘OK, it’s something else I’ve got to prove,'” Berry said. “Regardless of everything I’ve been through, everything I’ve battled, everything I’ve proven … it’s never enough.”
The good news for the Chiefs is that Berry said he’s feeling optimistic, as the two sides have already had preliminary contract talks. There was optimism last year, too, but with such a strong threat, there seems to be solid incentive for the Chiefs to get a deal done.
