Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 3/2

Chiefs Place Franchise Tag on S Eric Berry from The Mothership

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the club has placed the franchise tag on safety Eric Berry.

"Our goal is to keep Eric in Kansas City for the foreseeable future," Chiefs General Manager John Dorsey said. "He's a special player that means a lot to our organization, the city, and has been a critical piece in building our foundation. With today being the deadline to use the franchise tag, we felt it was in the best interest of the club to place the tag on Eric."

Polling the Experts: Which Prospect Would You Least Like to Face in Five Years? from The Mothership

With the NFL Scouting Combine taking place this week in Indianapolis, a lot of the talk has revolved around prospects like Peters who could make an immediate impact for their respective NFL teams, but what about projecting these players down the road?

We asked five of the top NFL Draft experts out there which players they'd least like to face five years from now, plus a player or two that they might be higher on than others.

Here's what they had to say:

Behind the Lens: The Top 10 Photos of 2015 - No. 5 from The Mothership

Chiefs 34, Raiders 20

Date: Sunday, December 6, 2015

Model: Canon EOS-1D X

Focal Length: 229

Exposure Time: 1/1,600

Taken By: Steve Sanders

Chiefs use franchise tag on star safety Eric Berry from The Kansas City Star

The move should not come as much of a shock. In early February, even Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt spoke glowingly about how much the organization valued Berry's contributions.

"Certainly, Eric is somebody that's very important to the franchise," Hunt said a few days before Super Bowl 50. "Coach Reid and his staff think highly of him. They appreciate the leader that he's become and obviously personally, he had the amazing year overcoming cancer. We'll do everything we can to try to bring him back."

The decision to franchise Berry means the Chiefs will retain at least one key defensive stalwart, though it also means a number of other key defensive players will become free agents on March 9, barring a new contract agreement.

Chiefs place franchise tag on All-Pro safety Eric Berry from Chiefs Digest

The Chiefs now have until July 15 to work with Berry's representative on a multiyear contract or extension, in accordance with NFL rules.

After July 15, Berry can only sign a one-year contract with the Chiefs for the 2016 season, which under the franchise designation for the safety position carries a $10.8 million price tag.

Additionally, discussion on a long-term deal between Berry and the Chiefs after July 15 will need to wait until the conclusion of the 2016 regular season.

Absent long-term deal, franchising Eric Berry was best move for Chiefs from ESPN

Other factors play into the Chiefs' decision as well. The cost of placing the franchise tag on a safety is about $10.8 million, or significantly less than for a linebacker, defensive lineman or cornerback.

The Chiefs also may have had a mutiny to deal with, both from their fans and players, if they had allowed a popular player who had overcome so much to walk.

While these factors, particularly the lower cost of the safety franchise tag, may have been part of the decision, make no mistake about what the real driver was. The Chiefs believed that among their free agents, Berry was the one whose loss would hurt the most, both in the short and long terms.

After tagging Eric Berry, what's next for Chiefs? from ESPN

Here's my ranking of their potential unrestricted free agents in order of how important they are to the 2016 Chiefs. In other words, the top player on the list will be the most difficult for them to immediately replace, the second player the second-most-difficult to replace, and on down the line.

This ranking doesn't take into account how expensive a player might be to re-sign, just his importance to the Chiefs in the near term.

Rating how active every NFL team will be in free agency from ESPN

Much depends on what the Chiefs accomplish in terms of re-signing their many potential unrestricted free agents before the market opens for business. If the Chiefs suffer heavy losses through free agency, which is possible, particularly on defense, they'll have no choice but to fill some holes with other teams' players. If they're able to retain many of the players they hope to, they won't be particularly busy in free agency. -- Adam Teicher

Eric Berry gets Chiefs' non-exclusive franchise tag from NFL.com

The non-exclusive franchise tag for safeties sits at $10.806 million. Other team would have the option to negotiation and sign Berry to a tender, with K.C. owning the option to match. If it's not matched, that team would owe the Chiefs two first-round draft picks -- this is the tag used on most players. Outside of quarterbacks, most teams aren't willing to risk two first-round draft picks for a position player, meaning Berry will be a Chief in 2016.

The sides have until July 15 to hammer out a long-term deal.

Source: Jaguars interested in Chiefs guard Jeff Allen from First Coast News

The Jacksonville Jaguars may address the team's offensive line in free agency.

The team is interested in Kansas City Chiefs guard and impending free agent Jeff Allen, a source told First Coast News.

NFL franchise tag roundup: Big names staying put from Sporting News

The nine players to receive a franchise tag, in alphabetical order.

Eric Berry, S, Chiefs: Berry will make $10.806 million next season and both sides are committed to keeping the 2015 NFL Comeback Player of the Year and four-time Pro Bowler in Kansas City.

Predicting which tagged players will get long-term deals from ESPN

Kansas City Chiefs: S Eric Berry

Franchise tag value: $10.806M

Berry and the Chiefs look willing to reach an agreement, so I would expect them to sign a long-term contract before the July 15 deadline. General manager John Dorsey said as much in the official announcement of the news: "Our goal is to keep Eric in Kansas City for the foreseeable future." Plus, by the summer, the Chiefs might need some relief from the $10.8 million they have to carry on their cap for Berry as their franchise player. -- Adam Teicher

Chiefs GM: 'I will do everything within my power' to re-sign Derrick Johnson from CBS Sports

Typically, 33-year-old players with a ruptured Achilles barely in the rearview mirror are not high-priority players in free agency. Thats especially true when they're 3-4 inside linebackers, a position that is not exactly the highest priority these days. But when you come back from that ruptured Achilles looking like you've barely missed a beat, make the Pro Bowl for the fourth time and become your team's all-time leading tackler in the process, you change things a bit. That's the case with Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson.

Tracking the NFL's 2016 franchise tag decisions from Sports Illustrated

Kansas City's decision to place the franchise tag on Berry is yet another step in one of the most remarkable comebacks in NFL history. Berry was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in December 2014 and returned to the team eight months later after treatment. Any result would have been a feel-good story, but Berry had one of his best seasons in 2015, with 55 solo tackles, two interceptions and 10 passes defensed. He was tasked to shut down opposing receivers all over the field, and did so with the same aplomb he's shown since he first came into the league in 2010. Berry will earn $10.806 million guaranteed under his tag, and it's likely he'll have a long-term deal sooner than later to continue his remarkable story.

Top 15 NFL free agents in 2016: Jackson, Osweiler lead class from USA Today

The NFL deadline to apply franchise and transition tags has now passed, so players with expiring contracts can now focus on negotiating new deals with their teams. Barring that, they can begin talking with other clubs Monday and sign elsewhere starting March 9. Here are our top 15 potential free agents, excluding those receiving tags:

NFL free agency primer: AFC West team needs from Sportsnet.ca

Kansas City Chiefs

Needs: Defensive line, cornerback, free safety

Possible targets: Tamba Hali (DE), Derrick Johnson (LB), Robert Griffin III (QB)

Similar to the Broncos, the Chiefs have plenty of defensive staples without new contracts, including pass rusher Tamba Hali, cornerback Sean Smith, inside linebacker Derrick Johnson, and defensive lineman Jaye Howard while safety Eric Berry received the franchise tag.

A Way Too Early Look At The Contenders For Super Bowl LI from SportsQuotient

The Chiefs were arguably the best team down the stretch, winning 11 games in a row before losing to the Patriots in the playoffs. The team was firing on all cylinders during the win streak, carried by Eric Berry and the defense. Looking ahead to the offseason, the team has $32 million to work with, not including a pay day for Berry. The 2015 Comeback Player of the Year is a free agent and, as one of the top safeties in the league, will command top dollar from the organization. With Andy Reid ready to lead the team back to the playoffs and the return of Jamaal Charles from injury, watch out for the Chiefs.

2016 NFL Mock Draft: Cardinals roll the dice on talented Noah Spence from CBS Sports

28. Kansas City Chiefs: Jason Spriggs, OT, Indiana -- Eric Fisher has yet to live up to expectations after being selected No. 1 overall two years ago and depth remains an issue all over Kansas City's offensive line. Head coach Andy Reid, a former offensive line coach, himself, could be intrigued by Spriggs, a former tight end whose athleticism stood out at the Combine. Protecting the edges is key with Von Miller and Khalil Mack in the division.

Detroit Lions 2016 free agency preview: Even with loaded draft, team could use veteran DT from MLive

Over the next several days, MLive.com reporters Kyle Meinke and Justin Rogers will analyze Detroit's free agency possibilities by position.

POSITION: Defensive tackle

UNDER CONTRACT: Caraun Reid, Gabe Wright, Kerry Hyder

TEAM'S FREE AGENTS: Haloti Ngata, Tyrunn Walker, Jermelle Cudjo and Khyri Thornton

TOP NFL FREE AGENTS: Malik Jackson, Ngata, Jaye Howard, Damon Harrison, Nick Fairley and Ian Williams

KEEP YOUR EYE ON: Akiem Hicks, Brandon Mebane

My All-Metro New Orleans based NFL Team from SportsNOLA

Neil Smith (McDonogh 35) followed up an All-American career at Nebraska with 13 seasons in NFL. A six-time Pro Bowler, Smith led the NFL in 1993 with 15 sacks. He was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Broncos. He is in the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame. His career included 624 stops, 105 sacks, 33 forced fumbles and four interceptions.

DUVERNAY-TARDIF BORED GROUND from TVA Sports [translated from the original French]

The offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is back in Quebec after a turbulent season.

Tuesday, Quebecers visited young people present at the Bruno Heppell Football School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, on the occasion of a conference, but he insisted be part in the meeting of training with the participants.