NFL

Nick Perry, Eric Berry among surprising NFL free agents

As the NFL season nears the stretch run, several surprising free agents remain available, showing just how unexpectedly a career can end.

The NFL season is nearing the stretch run, and Week 11 is nearly in the books. That’s likely 11 more weeks of unemployment than Nick Perry anticipated.

The former Green Bay Packers linebacker isn’t the only talented veteran still readily available for a team to consider bringing in for the remainder of the regular season. It is entirely possible with several weeks to go that a player like Perry or, say, Muhammad Wilkerson will be signed. Fatigue sets in. Positions are re-evaluated. Injuries take their toll. At any time, it’s possible the phone rings for a hopeful veteran who is doing what it takes to remain in game shape.

Then again, many such players likely expected their phones to ring a long, long time ago.

It feels a bit weird to look at a list of available free agents when there are actual games to discuss. After all, this subject is literally custom-made for the long offseason within which all we do is talk about the draft and free agency until there are literally no further angles to possibly pursue.

Yet in the midst of the frenzied season, it’s interesting to pause and read through a list of the players who are still available. If each player continues to sit at home on Sundays with the rest of us, it won’t be long until their careers are considered over—even if a formal announcement hasn’t been issued. While there is hope, even an ounce of it, it’s worth it for each of these players to continue in any optimism they can muster.

With just over a month of regular season games to go, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at a handful of surprising players who remain very much available. Unfortunately for each, unless something happens and a need arises, each of them might be calling it a career despite having dreamed of another year (or more).

Nick Perry, linebacker

Often it’s an ill-timed injury that becomes an abrupt final chapter in a player’s career, and it certainly looks that way for Perry, the longtime Packers linebacker. Taken in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, Perry would struggle to stay healthy for most of his career—he never once played in all 16 games—but still put together seven productive seasons for the Packers before the team decided to completely reinvent their pass rush in 2019 (to great effect, by the way, with free agent hits Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith).

Perry ended his final season in Green Bay on injured reserve with a hyperextended knee that required surgery and it likely took him some time to get healthy. Yet offseason free agent exhibitions with the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins failed to turn into any legitimate offer.

While the health issues are a major hurdle, the reality is Perry is still under 30 with 32 sacks and seven forced fumbles to his credit in his career. As a part-time veteran pass rusher at OLB, he could be a nice late-season addition for a team in need.  If not, Perry’s career will likely end due to the same injury frustrations that plagued him for some time.

Muhammad Wilkerson, defensive line

Wilkerson, to me, is the single most surprising name on the free agent list (sans Colin Kaepernick, but that’s another article entirely). Wilkerson just turned 30, was a productive starter as recently as last season, and has been an impact lineman (and one-time Pro Bowler) in a league where the maxim says the game is won and lost in the trenches.

However, Wilkerson might be suffering from more than one issue here with regards to his employ-ability. First, Wilkerson comes with health concerns (a la Perry) in that he also ended last season on injured reserve after playing only three games with the Green Bay Packers. The injury in question required surgery on his ankle and the early reports said his career might be in jeopardy. That was later refuted by his surgeon, but it might have turned out to be true.

Wilkerson didn’t help himself by receiving a DUI in June after he ran a stop sign while driving drunk. The character concern could make it easy for teams to decide between Wilkerson and another player. Then again, Wilkerson’s ankle might not allow him to come back either way.

Eric Berry, safety

Speaking of injuries, Eric Berry is well-versed in doing the hard work it takes to overcome them to, once again, return to the field of play.

In some ways, it makes sense that Berry has yet to return to the field. It’s been a long, long road even to this point and it would be a miracle for the former Kansas City Chiefs safety to find his way back from such a debilitating injury to his ankle/foot after needing so much time off in each of the last two years.

Then again, Berry is hardly any “normal” player, so there’s every reason to hold out expectations that he could do the requisite work to return to the field. Berry was not only the finest player at his position, but he looked even more dominant than ever after returning from Hodgkins lymphoma—a return which earned him the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award in 2015.

Consider that he fought cancer in 2014, made the Pro Bowl in ’15, and was voted as the league’s 13th-best player overall after the ’16 season by his peers. That progression should give anyone optimism to believe Berry could once again return once he somehow gets over this foot injury that plagued him in K.C. Unfortunately it doesn’t look as if that will happen. Even for a talent once destined for the Hall of Fame, it turns out that longevity in the NFL is difficult to achieve.

Jermey Parnell, offensive tackle

At 33 years old, Jermey Parnell’s best days are most certainly behind him. However, in a league where offensive line play is known for being subpar for several teams and with injuries taking their toll, it’s surprising that no one has called Parnell to serve as a stopgap or security measure as a swing tackle.

Parnell ended last season on injured reserve with a knee injury near the end of the season and was released during the offseason to save $6 million against the salary cap. It was a move that made perfect sense at the time since the Jaguars had outgrown their need for Parnell, but what is surprising is that he remains available even in Week 11 of the regular season.

Pro Football Focus rated Parnell at No. 51 among all qualifying offensive tackles last season, which insinuates a backup at best, but that’d likely be a welcome role for Parnell who is used to being useful when called upon. He’s made 57 starts at tackle over the last four seasons, so he also brings a plug-and-play ability given his experience with the Jags. At this point in the year, it’s often not about quality but even availability. Parnell could offer the former while definitely bringing the latter. Yet he still sits waiting for a chance.

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