Getty Images Eric Berry spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs second-round draft pick Juan Thornhill was having a breakout rookie campaign in 2019 before suffering a season-ending torn ACL injury in Week 17 of the regular season. The 24-year-old safety started all 16 games across from All-Pro Tyrann Mathieu, posting 57 total tackles, five pass breakups, and three interceptions.
As the Chiefs prepared for another postseason run, former safety Eric Berry quickly became a favorite candidate to replace the dynamic rookie even though he hadn’t played a single snap all season. The long-shot scenario never came to fruition as the team elected to move forward with their internal options including S Daniel Sorensen and CB/S Kendall Fuller.
According to NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo, a return was never in the plans for the 31-year-old free agent, despite interest from multiple teams.
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“It turns out that he actually did have opportunities to play in the league this past year. He took a sabbatical,” Garafolo said. “He wanted to make sure he could get himself right both mentally and physically, because remember, it was the first time he’s ever experienced getting cut and he had that Achilles thing that kept him off the field last year.”
“He does intend to play in 2020,” Garafolo confirmed. “He’s only 31 right now, I believe, so he still believes he has some good football left. But an intentional sabbatical this year to step away from football a little bit and basically cleanse his system,” said Garafolo.
Before his intentional leave of absence in 2019, Berry spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Chiefs. Kansas City elected to cut the defensive playmaker last March before his $7.25 million salary became fully guaranteed.
Chiefs released five-time Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry. Had Berry been on KC’s roster Friday, $7.25 million of his salary would have become fully guaranteed.
The Chiefs drafted the University of Tennessee star in the first round (No. 5 overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. Current LT Eric Fisher, who the team selected No. 1 overall in 2013, is the only player selected higher than Berry in the last decade.
The 31-year-old is a three-time First Team All-Pro selection – most recently in 2016 – and a five-time Pro Bowl honoree. In 2015, Berry was named Comeback Player of the Year by both the Associated Press and Pro Football Writers of America after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in December 2014.
Berry has also missed nearly three full NFL seasons over his career, including a torn ACL in 2011, ruptured Achilles tendon in 2017, and Haglund’s deformity in 2018 which forced out of action until Week 15. There is no guarantee the former star safety can return to his previous level of play, but more than one team was at least willing to take that chance in 2019.
The new NFL league year will begin on March 18, 2020 and it is expected that Berry will again draw some serious interest.
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