The Chiefs are trying to finalize a deal with safety Eric Berry that would make Berry the NFL’s highest-paid safety, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday.
Getting that deal done soon would not only keep Berry off the market but would give the Chiefs the chance to use their franchise tag on nose tackle Dontari Poe instead of using it on Berry for a second straight year. The deadline to place the franchise tag on players in Wednesday, March 1.
With that deadline looming and the Chiefs wanting to keep both players, the report said the sides are “working hard” at nailing down the details on a new contract for Berry.
Both Berry and Poe have played their entire careers with the Chiefs and both rank in the top 25 of PFT’s Hot 100 Free Agents list. The league year and free agent period open next week, on March 9.
Berry, 28, is a five-time Pro Bowler who beat Hodgkin’s lymphoma after being diagnosed in 2014 and has played some of his best football over the last two seasons. Poe, 26, could be headed for free agency for the first time. He was a first-round pick in 2012, is a two-time Pro Bowler and has only missed two games in his five-year career.