Chiefs, Berry reportedly finalizing six-year deal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs are finalizing a $78 million, six-year deal with Eric Berry that will make him the highest-paid safety in the NFL, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Chiefs tried to sign Berry to an extension last season but never came close to an agreement, ultimately giving him the franchise tag. Berry responded to the one-year deal worth more than $10 million by having one of his best seasons, making 77 tackles and four interceptions with two touchdowns.
Tyrann Mathieu of the Arizona Cardinals had been the NFL’s highest-paid safety after signing a $62.5 million, five-year deal with $40 million guaranteed. Berry also is getting $40 million guaranteed.
Peterson a free agent
MINNEAPOLIS — Adrian Peterson, Minnesota’s all-time leading rusher and a first-team All-Pro pick in four of his 10 seasons with the Vikings, will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career when the market opens next week.
The Vikings as expected said Tuesday they will not exercise their option for 2017 on Peterson’s contract, which called for him to make $18 million. That would have been an unwieldly hit to their salary cap and by far the highest figure in the NFL for a running back. Pittsburgh’s decision to place the franchise tag on Le’Veon Bell likely will mean a $12 million-plus salary for the 25-year-old, but nobody else at the position in the league is even close.
The Vikings left the door open for Peterson to return to the team that drafted him in 2007 with the seventh overall pick, only at a much lower price. The fact that they announced their decision nine days before the deadline was an indication that little dialogue about a new deal has taken place to date. General manager Rick Spielman told reporters last week that he had not yet spoken at that point to Peterson or his agents about the future.
“Adrian is an important part of the Minnesota Vikings organization,” Spielman said Tuesday. “We will continue to have conversations with his representatives and leave our future options open while determining what is best for both parties moving forward.”
Brown gets big raise
PITTSBURGH — Art Rooney II began the groundwork on making Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown a part of the organization “for life” last summer.
The team’s longtime president pulled his occasionally eccentric star aside and promised that rewarding Brown for his record-breaking work would be a top priority in 2017.
“Once he gives you his word, he sticks to his word,” Brown said. And then some.
The Steelers made Brown the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL when they signed him to a five-year deal worth more than $72 million Monday night. It was an emphatic vote of confidence that the 28-year-old can extend his prime well into his 30s for a team that believes the window to a championship remains open so long as Brown is out there chasing down passes from Ben Roethlisberger.
“He’s one of the hardest-working players we’ve ever had on our team,” Rooney said Tuesday. “He leads by example.”
Yet for all of Brown’s gaudy numbers, including an NFL-high 632 receptions since breaking into the league as a rookie in 2010, he lacks Super Bowl titles. It’s that pursuit — and not the riches that come along with being the most well-compensated person at what you do in the world — that Brown insists will be his focus through 2021. And perhaps beyond.
“All the Steeler greats, all those guys have (rings),” Brown said.
Cousins has exclusive tag
WASHINGTON — In a move that seemed the most likely at this point in the odd dance between Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins, the team placed the exclusive franchise tag on the starting quarterback on Tuesday.
The Redskins announced the news one day before the deadline for assigning tags to players.
Nearly a half-hour before the club itself sent out a news release about the move, Cousins’ agent Mike McCartney tweeted about it, and Cousins wrote on the social media site: “Tag! I’m it!”
Coming off a pair of statistically impressive seasons, and a nearly $20 million salary under the franchise tag last season, Cousins is now in line for a oneyear salary of about $24 million.
He also could wind up agreeing to a long-term contract with the Redskins sometime before July 15 — or they also could decide to trade him, perhaps to a QB-starved team such as the San Francisco 49ers, whose new head coach is former Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
By using the exclusive tag, the Redskins prevent Cousins from signing an offer sheet with another team. A year ago, they put a non-exclusive tag on him, and he immediately signed it.
Last season, Cousins broke his own franchise record for passing yards, nearly eclipsing 5,000, and set another team mark with more than 400 completions, throwing for 25 TDs and 12 interceptions with a completion percentage of 67. The Redskins lost four of their last six games — including 19-10 at home against the New York Giants in the regular-season finale, a defeat sealed by his late interception — to end up 8-7-1 and miss the playoffs.