Chiefs maintain high hopes for Eric Fisher, must make a big decision on him soon

When it comes to former No. 1 overall pick Eric Fisher, Chiefs general manager John Dorsey has maintained a consistent, steady message.

“I told you all along that it would take three years to see who he is,” Dorsey said.

The reason for that? Physical gifts aside — and Fisher, who was drafted tops in 2013, has those in abundance — the jump from Central Michigan to the NFL has not been easy for him. The speed of the game has been an adjustment, and so has the aggressiveness. The rash of injuries he dealt with his first two seasons didn’t help, either.

But the good news is that the Chiefs appear to be happy with what they saw from Fisher in year three, when he was moved from left tackle to right tackle and back again. They seem cautiously optimistic about what they can expect out of the 6-foot-7, 320-pounder in 2016.

“I could see him being bigger, faster, stronger and better next year,” Dorsey said. “Now, he knows he’s it. He’s got all the athleticism in the world to play with anybody in the National Football League (and he’s started) to understand that, ‘You know what? The game has finally slowed down for me. I can play with anybody.’ And he can.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid agreed.

“I saw him get comfortable with his game, most of all, and with himself as an NFL player,” Reid said. “He kind of let his personality show. And he’s a young guy who has gotten better every year. I thought this was a big jump this past year, and I would expect it to be another jump this year.”

By noting that Fisher “let his personality show,” Reid is referring to the improved toughness Fisher showed in 2015. Against the Steelers in mid-October, he was flagged for defending a teammate who was getting his leg twisted in a pile by a defender. And against the Texans in the playoffs, he was caught delivering a shot to an on-his-knees J.J. Watt that caused Watt to leave the game.

When Fisher was shown on the jumbotron at Reliant Stadium after the play, the Texans’ crowd booed and hissed. Fisher responded with a wave and a keep-it-coming gesture.

“Yeah, it’s a mentality thing,” Fisher said. “It definitely was a transition for me to make my name in this league. It was mostly a mental thing. Something clicked, and I just went at it.”

The moment seemed to adequately capture a new attitude. In September, Fisher had been a late scratch from the Chiefs’ starting lineup for their opener in Houston.

Though Fisher was battling a sprained ankle at the time, Reid had said earlier during the week that he’d expected Fisher to play. The late scratch prompted some to question Fisher’s toughness. That speculation reached as far as Arizona, where former Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley owns and operates a training facility for offensive linemen.

“He struggled early on — there were times you could question his consistency and desire, and all that showed up on film,” Bentley said. “But beyond that, I would clearly say, without hesitation, the young man has started to figure things out.”

Fisher’s now-infamous play against Watt helped Bentley come to that conclusion.

“Some say, ‘Oh, he’s dirty,’ and most of those people are going to be Houston fans,” Bentley said. “But you know what? I would rather have the title of being a dirty player than a soft player. At some point, as an offensive linemen, you’ve got to wake up and decide what the hell you want to be, what side of the fence you want to live on.”

In a similar vein, Bentley said the play showed Fisher is willing to be the nasty, tough guy you’ve got to be to have a long career in the league.

“Is he gonna be a perennial Pro Bowl, Hall-of-Fame type guy? Maybe, maybe not,” Bentley said. “But I can tell you this: Defenders are learning that he’s not an easy win. And when you can start to build that type of acumen in the league, where defenders know at any given point in time, that hey, you might get it, that’s when the game becomes much easier for you.

“That’s the biggest thing for any lineman. You play scared, you play soft, you play hesitant, and the game becomes much harder than it needs to be. But if you go out and set the standard and you show each and every week that you aren’t going to be anybody’s easy win, the game gets easier for you.”

When asked if the Chiefs can win a Super Bowl with Fisher at left tackle, Bentley said they could ... as long as he plays with that aggressiveness.

“You can always win with attitude,” Bentley said. “Not only can you win with him, you can build with him.

“The first part of winning is having an identity ... yeah, he might not be Joe Thomas, he might not be Jason Peters. That’s fine — there aren’t many guys in this league that are. But when you’ve got a guy that you know, each and every week, what he’s gonna bring to the table, there’s your identity. That’s how you start to build, that’s how you start to win.”

There is considerable hope at One Arrowhead Drive that Fisher can keep it going.

“I was proud of him, the way he handled himself this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he does this coming year,” Reid said.

Fisher’s future beyond 2016 is somewhat murky, however. Dorsey said the Chiefs have until May 2 to execute their fifth-year option on Fisher, which should approach $12 million for 2017. The option is guaranteed for injury, which means he’d get it automatically if he were to be seriously hurt in 2016.

If Fisher doesn’t get hurt this season but fails to live up to the team’s expectations this fall, the Chiefs could cut him at any time before the first day of the new league year in March 2017 and eliminate his cap charge completely.

Dorsey said the Chiefs have had discussions about the option year with Fisher’s representative, and will continue to do so.

“We believe in his development,” Dorsey said. “I think it’s important for the culture of the organization.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Chiefs maintain high hopes for Eric Fisher, must make a big decision on him soon."