Chicago Bears: Team should avoid signing safety Eric Berry

The Chicago Bears announced Sunday that safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix will begin training camp on the PUP list. With the team in need of depth at safety, Eric Berry is a signing they should avoid.

The Chicago Bears lost only one defensive starter from last year’s league-leading squad. Free safety Adrian Amos signed with the rival Green Bay Packers, leaving a hole for the Bears in the defensive backfield.

The Bears answered by signing free safety (and former Packer) Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who was with the Washington Redskins after being traded to D.C. midseason. For Bears fans, the signing was an acquisition that made Amos’ departure sting a bit less.

However, the Bears announced on Sunday that Clinton-Dix would likely miss most of training camp with what the team describes as a knee sprain. He’s been placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

The safety injured his knee during the team’s mandatory minicamp, but the Bears reported they don’t expect the injury to be serious. Still, it’s unfortunate timing for a guy who was just about hit training camp to learn and bond with his new teammates.

Clinton-Dix will still be around the Bears at training camp in Bourbonnais, IL, but the team should strongly consider bringing in another veteran safety for depth and as a backup plan in case Clinton-Dix’s injury lingers.

A name that’s been tossed around with the Bears (even before Clinton-Dix signed) is former Kansas City Chiefs safety, Eric Berry. Berry has some incredible highlights out there and was one of the best safeties in the league in his prime.

But that prime was long ago, and the 30-year-old has played just a handful of games in the past two seasons. Berry ruptured his Achilles tendon in the first game of the 2017 season, which held him out for the rest of the year.

With Berry ready to make a triumphant return with the Chiefs last season, he was suddenly and mysteriously pulled from training camp. The Chiefs reported that Berry had a heel injury, but it was on the opposite foot of his previous Achilles injury.

With Chiefs coach Andy Reid refusing to classify Berry as anything other than “Day-to-day”, fans watched in frustration as the team’s horrible defense struggled week after week. Berry didn’t return to the field until week 15, playing in only three games last season.

The Chiefs never exactly explained the extent of the injury that caused Berry to miss practice for over 100 straight days. In addition, the team reported in February that Berry sought a second opinion on his heel and wouldn’t be getting surgery.

If the Bears are desperate for a veteran safety, Berry isn’t the answer. He would be a great locker room leader, but if the Clinton-Dix injury does linger, you’re just replacing him with an even more injury-prone player.

I give Berry credit for being one of the most resilient players in NFL history. He missed most of a season in 2014 battling lymphoma and returned to football in under a year after his diagnosis to a hero’s welcome. He even made the Pro Bowl in 2015.

Berry’s triumph and return to the top was cut short when he got unlucky again and injured his Achilles. It’s that injury that truly ended his career, in my eyes. At the very least, it made him a different player than what we saw previously.

Having said that, I still wouldn’t count him out. There are rumors that other teams like the Cleveland Browns are interested in signing him, and I don’t expect Berry to retire. But I also don’t think he’s worth the risk for the Bears.

There are other veteran free-agent safeties out there like Tre Boston and Mike Mitchell that don’t have an extensive injury history. Hopefully, Clinton-Dix’s injury really isn’t serious. If it is, the Bears should look at one of these two options as a replacement.