NFL notebook: Chiefs S Berry, RB Ware set to play Sunday

[January 18, 2019]  Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry and running back Spencer Ware are trending toward taking the field Sunday in the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots.

Berry was a full participant in Wednesday's practice and repeated the session Thursday. He's been bothered by a heel injury.

"He looked good out there," head coach Andy Reid said Thursday when asked about the risk of Berry being rusty after playing in just two games this season. "I see him out there looking like Eric Berry."

Berry has played just 99 snaps across the two games while battling the lingering heel issue, while Ware missed the final three games of the regular season after injuring his hamstring Week 14 in a win over the Ravens.

--Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt had a "minor knee cleanup" after the season, reported NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

"Sounds like he's fine now," Rapoport tweeted. "Just some maintenance on an injury that bothered him during the season."
 

Watt had appeared on Houston's injury report multiple times during the second half of the season with a knee issue, but he started all 16 regular-season games plus the Texans' wild-card playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts this season.

--Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette has filed an official challenge over the team's decision to take away the guarantees in the final two years of his contract, according to multiple reports, and an arbitrator will determine if Jacksonville is within its rights to do so.

Fournette was scheduled to earn $2.93 million in 2019 and $4.17 million in 2020, but the Jaguars voided the guarantees after he was suspended by the NFL for one game for coming off the bench to fight with Bills defensive lineman Shaq Lawson during the Jaguars' loss at Buffalo on Nov. 25.

After the game, Fournette apologized, but the Jaguars still took away the remaining guaranteed money in his rookie contract citing a contract clause that allowed them to do so if he missed a game for anything other than a football-related injury.

--The Seattle Seahawks have agreed to a deal with quarterback Paxton Lynch, a first-round draft pick by Denver in 2016, KJR Radio reported.

Lynch, who turns 25 next month, was released by the Broncos before the 2018 season.

He wasn't able to take hold of the starting job in Denver, appearing in just five games (four starts) and passing for 792 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. The Broncos' signing of Case Keenum last March made Lynch expendable.

Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson (32) is tackled by Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Eric Berry (29) during the first quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

--The Chicago Bears' impressive 2018 turnaround earned Matt Nagy the NFL Coach of the Year and former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio the NFL Assistant Coach of the Year honors from the Pro Football Writers of America.

Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard, whose moves helped the Colts reach the playoffs for the first time since 2014, was voted NFL Executive of the Year by PFWA members.

Nagy inherited a 5-11 team and compiled a 12-4 record in his first season with the Bears, who won the NFC North and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

--Legendary singer Gladys Knight will perform the national anthem before Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3, the NFL and CBS announced.

"I am proud to use my voice to unite and represent our country in my hometown of Atlanta," the 74-year-old Knight said.

Knight is enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has won seven Grammy awards. She also has had two No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 singles during her career: "Midnight Train to Georgia" and "That's What Friends Are For."

--Former NFL quarterback Turk Schonert has died, according to Fox 19 News in Cincinnati. He was 62. His cause of death was not announced.

Schonert spent eight seasons in Cincinnati (1981-85, 1987-89) and one in Atlanta (1986), largely as a backup quarterback. He compiled a 7-5 record as a starter.

He later served as quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. He also was the Bills' offensive coordinator for one season in 2008. More recently, he was an assistant coach with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.

--Field Level Media

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