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If you are feeling some déjà vu coming on, that is to be expected.
For the second time this year, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that Chiefs safety Eric Berry could return to practice sometime this week. Berry last practiced for the Chiefs 106 days ago up at Chiefs training camp on August 11.
Rapoport released the news with caution this time around:
The #Chiefs have been here before so there is caution. But still: I’m told the team is hopeful that star S Eric Berry will return to practice this week as he begins to ramp up and get ready to play. They expect him to practice. And his addition could be massive for this defense.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 25, 2018
NFL Network reports emerged in late September that Berry has something called a Haglund’s deformity on his heel, which we covered extensively with notes from our in-house injury expert Aaron Borgmann here.
Yahoo! Sports’ Terez Paylor and CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora were among the first to report that Berry could be back to practice after the bye week.
Here was La Canfora back on November 18:
LA CANFORA: Berry continued to make strides from a long-term heel injury, and could be back as soon as after Kansas City’s Week 12 bye, sources said.
Berry will not play in Monday’s clash with the Rams – one of the most anticipated games of the season – and has yet to practice, but the team made a point to take every precaution with the playmaker and has been eyeing the weeks following the bye to implement him back into the lineup. It’s expected Berry would begin practicing after the bye, with a return in Week 13 or 14 likely at this point.
From the beginning of this saga back at training camp, this has been one of the most unusual stories I have ever covered.
We should get definitive word on Berry Monday, when Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is scheduled to speak to the media at Noon Arrowhead Time.