As the Falcons wrapped practice Thursday and packed up to head home to spend the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday with their families, many left with Chiefs safety Eric Berry on their minds.
Berry is undergoing tests to determine if a mass found in his chest is lymphoma, a form of cancer, and the NFL being the fraternity that it is, Falcons players are keeping Berry in their thoughts.
Falcons guard and former Chiefs teammate Jon Asamoah hasn't had a chance to reach Berry, but he's talked to some of his former teammates in Kansas City to hear how they're holding up with the news. Asamoah and Berry came into the league in 2010 and have a kinship because of it.
"E.B. is as tough as they come and just determined," Asamoah said Thursday. "Whatever he puts his mind to, he'll come out on top."
Falcons cornerback Javier Arenas, who played in the same secondary with Berry in Kansas City, has been affected by the news. Calling it a shock, Arenas found the news to be out of left field, as he put it, and he's been trying to reach out to Berry, as well.
"I wish him the best of luck, and if there's anything I can do for him, I'm there," Arenas said of Berry, who calls Atlanta home. "He's a patient guy. He doesn't just overreact. In a situation like that, you don't know what's going to happen."
Two young Falcons, center James Stone and practice squad linebacker Jacques Smith, didn't get a chance to play with Berry, but boast the same alma mater as the star safety. Berry's reputation at the University of Tennessee was felt during Stone and Smith's time with the Vols and they both offer their support.
"We've always seen him as a symbol of what Tennessee stood for and what Tennessee is all about," Stone said. "He's a strong dude and I know the whole Tennessee family, and my family, we're praying for him."
