Eric Berry ends holdout, will return Sunday

Multiple sources are reporting that the Chiefs All-Pro safety, Eric Berry, will rejoin the team on Sunday.

After not being able to come to a long-term agreement at the July 15th deadline, Eric Berry had decided to hold out from training camp to prove a point. Now that the long haul of the preseason is basically over, it looks like last year’s Comeback Player of the Year will be back with the team this weekend. Many pundits were shocked that the relationship had reached this point. The Chiefs had slapped the franchise tag on Berry back in February, and many believed it would be the easiest long term deal to get done this summer. That wasn’t the case.

As we all know this is a business, but Berry is a spectacular player and young man. He had battled through and conquered Hodgkin’s lymphoma in just a matter of months to get back on the field. Once he returned, he put together arguably the best season of his career. Most of Chiefs Kingdom didn’t like the fact that after all Berry had been through, a deal did not get done at the deadline. It was reported that the Chiefs initially wanted their safety to take out disability insurance, in case his illness returned.

Although things got ugly this summer between the two, the damage has been done and both sides can move on. Berry will sign to play under the franchise tag for $10.8 million in 2016. Kansas City can not negotiate a new deal with Berry now until the end of the season. Regardless, the Chiefs will be happy to get the leader of their defense back before the regular season. For Berry, he finds himself in another contract year where he can cash out.