Chiefs More Likely To Franchise DT Dontari Poe Than S Eric Berry?

ESPN’s Adam Schefter mentions that the Chiefs will have at least two key players to sign before the free agent market is officially open in March — safety Eric Berry and defensive tackle Dontari Poe.

According to Schefter, if the Chiefs are unable to sign either Berry or Poe to long-term contracts, one of them will receive the team’s franchise tag, and sources have told Schefter that it wouldn’t be surprising if it ends up being Poe.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports previously mentioned that Kansas City may have to franchise Poe during the offseason and focus on signing Berry to a long-term extension, so this doesn’t come as a complete surprise.

The Chiefs weren’t able to reach an agreement with Berry on a contract extension this summer, so Berry played out the season under the franchise tag and is in line to be one of the best available free agents in this year’s market. However, it appears as though his asking price is only going up, as he’s put together another very impressive season since overcoming cancer in 2015.

Joel Corry recently posted some projected franchise tag totals for the 2017 season and it would cost the Chiefs close to $13.5 million to franchise Poe or $13.15 million to tag Berry for a second straight season.

Previous reports said that Berry likely has his eyes set on a big contract that could top the five-year, $51.25-million deal signed by Vikings S Harrison Smith.

Berry, 28, worked his way back from Hodgkin’s lymphoma and managed to produce an impressive 2015 season. if a former first-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2010. He played out his rookie contract with the team before receiving the team’s franchise tag back in February.

The franchise tag cost the Chiefs $10.806 million fully guaranteed for the 2016 season.

In 2016, Berry appeared in all 16 games and recorded 77 tackles, four interceptions with two being returned for touchdowns, a forced fumble and nine pass defenses for the Chiefs. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 8 safety out of 92 qualifying players.

Poe, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2012. He played out his four-year, $11,320,006 contract but the Chiefs picked up his fifth-year option last year that will cost them $6.15 million for the 2106 season.

In 2016, Poe has appeared in all 16 games for the Chiefs and recorded 27 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and three pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 46 interior defensive lineman out of 126 qualifying players.

We have both players featured in our Top 100 – 2017 Free Agents list.