NFL teams have until March 1 to designate players with the franchise tag, and it would appear the Kansas City Chiefs will use the tag on safety Eric Berry. The team tagged him last season, and by all accounts, they are nowhere near a long term contract. Berry has said he will not play under the franchise tag again, so there is a lot of work for the two sides.
If Berry gets the tag and holds out, the Chiefs could trade him, but for the time being, we can presume Berry will not be an option for most anybody this offseason. A tag also means that Chiefs defensive tackle Dontari Poe. He is an incredibly athletic big man, but his consistency has been questionable the past few years.
The 49ers signed Earl Mitchell over the weekend to likely handle nose tackle and general run-stuffing work. I don’t expect them to go invest a ton of money in Poe, but we could still see Poe end up in the NFC West. The folks at Field Gulls think he’ll be a big target for the Seahawks. Seattle needs interior line help as they lose options to free agency, so I can see them dropping serious money on someone like Poe.