Chiefs say Eric Berry is "close" after injury, not sure if he'll play in preseason game

The Kansas City Chiefs play their first preseason game on Thursday but it's not yet clear if Eric Berry will be suited up. Berry injured his heel last Thursday, which led to him missing Friday and Saturday's practices.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said on Saturday that Berry is "close" to returning. Indications are that they're being cautious with the heel injury, which is not an Achilles or anything like that, Reid said.

"We'll see," Reid said when asked if Berry will play on Thursday. "I'm not going to say that until we see how things work the next couple of days."

It's just the first preseason game. Without knowing the details of Berry's injury, I'd be fine with resting him for a few more days to make sure he's fine. Berry is a vet and understands the system; he doesn't need the preseason work as much as guys like Malcolm Bronson and Daniel Sorensen do.

Absent his ACL season, Berry hasn't missed a game due to injury in his career. He can play in just about every defensive front so you can expect him to see a lot of snaps barring injury. Give him time to come back.