Ron Parker has filled in nicely for Eric Berry

Eric Berry, who has missed the last three games with a high ankle sprain, was scheduled to practice Monday.

Berry, a three-time Pro Bowler at safety, racked up 15 tackles in his only full game this season, the Chiefs' season-opening 26-10 loss to Tennessee. He got hurt the next week against Denver.

But while Berry was out, Ron Parker played pretty well in Berry’s absence.

Secondary coach Emmitt Thomas said Parker performed well.

Parker, a college safety who converted to cornerback in the NFL because of his size (6 feet, 206 pounds) and speed (4.38 40-yard dash), has recorded 20 tackles and a pass deflection in the Chiefs’ last four games.

“I don't know if he's a better corner or safety,” Thomas said. “All I know is this — whatever you ask him to do, he does it with joy and a lot of pride. Since Eric has gotten hurt, he's been playing the safety position and he's playing it every well. He's getting better each week.”

Parker is part of a unit that is on pace to drastically reduce the amount of big plays it allowed last season. Thomas said that when Berry returns to game action, the Chiefs will be able to use them both because they play a lot of nickel and dime subpackages.

“The two things that help him are he's mentally tough and he's fast,” Thomas said of Parker. “So even if he misreads some things, he has enough speed to get to it.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2014 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Ron Parker has filled in nicely for Eric Berry."