Last year’s injury to John Sullivan opened up a great opportunity for backup Joe Berger. When a starter who is known for playing at a high level goes down, the player behind them on the depth chart is usually a big downgrade, but that wasn’t the case at center last year.
In fact, Joe Berger earned a ton of praise last year for his play. Pro Football Focus singled him out as one of the best players who aren’t getting any respect, pointing out that he was the highest graded player at the center position last year.
This is why it was strange that Berger wasn’t a priority free agent for other teams.