KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs safety Eric Berry sounded confident Friday that he’ll be on the field when Kansas City plays the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game at Arrowhead Stadium.
The three-time All-Pro has been a full participant in practice this week after dealing with a heel injury, but needs the OK from Coach Andy Reid to take the field on Sunday night.
“I feel pretty good. Just talk to coach and see what he wants to do and go from there,” Berry said. “It would mean a lot not just for me and my family and my teammates, but the organization.”
Berry tore his Achilles tendon in last year’s opener, sidelining him the rest of the season. He returned in time for summer workouts and the start of training camp. But a mysterious heel injury popped up that kept Berry off the field until Week 15 against the Chargers.
Berry played more the following week on the turf in Seattle, but the injury recurred and he missed the regular-season finale against Oakland and the divisional round matchup against Indianapolis.
BROWNS: New coach Freddie Kitchens added seven assistants to his staff, including Tosh Lupoi, Alabama’s defensive coordinator last season.
Lupoi will coach Cleveland’s defensive line. He spent five seasons working under Nick Saban with the Crimson Tide.
COWBOYS: Scott Linehan is out as offensive coordinator only days after Coach Jason Garrett sent mixed messages about the future for the oft-criticized assistant.
Garrett, in a statement released by the team Friday, described the move as a mutual decision after he and Linehan had some open and positive discussions this week. Linehan, who just completed his fifth season in Dallas, had one more season left on his contract.
“This was very much a mutual decision, and there was a great deal of common ground and shared understanding between both of us during our meetings,” Garrett said. “Scott has had an incredibly positive impact on our football team.”
The Cowboys rebounded after a 3-5 start to win the NFC East. They beat the Seattle Seahawks in a home wild-card game before a 30-22 loss at the Los Angeles Rams last weekend.
Garrett said on his radio show Monday he thought Linehan would return and didn’t expect any significant changes to his staff. But at a news conference later in the day, Garrett was far from definitive and said discussions about a coaching staff hadn’t happened.
BENGALS: Quarterback Turk Schonert, who came off the bench and led Cincinnati to an opening victory during its first Super Bowl season, died suddenly near his home in South Carolina.
The Bengals were informed of Schonert’s death, which came on Thursday two days after his 62nd birthday.
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