Chiefs safety Berry suffers ruptured Achilles

Chiefs safety Eric Berry

Eric Berry suffered a ruptured Achilles in the Kansas City Chiefs stunning 42-27 victory over the New England Patriots, head coach Andy Reid has confirmed.

The Chiefs produced an excellent performance to shock the defending Super Bowl champions in the season opener on Thursday, with All-Pro safety Berry at the forefront as he all but shut down tight end Rob Gronkowski.

But Berry was taken off on a cart in the fourth quarter and Reid on Friday confirmed he had sustained the season-ending injury.

"You're not going to replace Eric Berry with another Eric Berry… we’ve obviously got some guys here we know that can play,” Reid? said.

Berry was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in December 2014, but returned to make the Pro Bowl in 2015. 

He then built on that season by earning his fifth Pro Bowl appearance in 2016 after finishing with four interceptions and two touchdowns.

The Chiefs rewarded him with a six-year, $78 million deal before this season, making him the highest-paid safety in the NFL.

Though Berry has never had more than 92 tackles in a season, he has been a star contributor at all levels of the defense over his six-year career.