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Eric Berry expected to play in preseason opener

By Kevin Parvizi

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I don’t think there will be a more heart-warming NFL story this calendar year than Eric Berry’s return to the field for the Kansas City Chiefs after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last year, and the positive news continued today. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid stated that Berry is expected to be available for this week’s game against the Arizona Cardinals which will kick off both team’s 2015 preseasons.

ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: Where Does Berry Rank Among Best Safeties?

Berry’s return to the practice field late last month was excellent news on its own, but the news that he should be ready to go this Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET for real game action is perhaps even bigger news. While it hasn’t been reported as suddenly, the fact that Berry is in shape and ready to actually take snaps means that we’ve gone from “encouraging” to “wow, he seems ready to play at a high level again”.

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Reid didn’t say that Berry is guaranteed to play on Saturday, though, so that’s worth bearing in mind as the week continues. It’s also worth remembering that if Berry does indeed take the field this week for the Chiefs first preseason game, he and the other starters will barely be on the field.

The Chiefs will likely play it especially safe with Berry for more than just the obvious reasons, because they have been cautious with Berry at practice. On Sunday, the Kansas City Star’s Terez A. Paylor wrote that the Chiefs were playing Berry with the second-string defense in an effort to carefully get him back in to playing shape, but even then, the former Tennessee standout didn’t seem to miss a beat despite the lengthy absence.

Now that he’s lymphoma-free, we have every reason to believe that Eric Berry will be out there on Saturday, and I’ve read nothing but positive reports on him through training camp. Easily one of the NFL’s top-five safeties due to his coverage ability, hard work in run defense, range, instincts, ball skills, and work covering tight ends, Berry is a big reason why the Chiefs have a chance at unseating the Seattle Seahawks for the NFL’s best defense in 2015.

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