Jamaal Charles, Tony Moeaki and Eric Berry, the three members of the ACL club, are about to take their first hits since the injuries.

Coach Romeo Crennel announced on Monday that all three of the ACL club would play in Friday's exhibition opener against Arizona and also go against the Cardinals during Tuesday's joint practice.

"We will continue to manage those guys as well, but I think it's important for them to get reps in the game to begin to find out where they are and how they feel and how those injuries are recovering," Crennel said. "So we'll give them some time and we'll see how it goes."

Charles, Moeaki and Berry all suffered ACL tears early in 2011, and the Chiefs have been cautious in how they've handled all three during training camp. 

Last week, we looked at the history of running backs returning from an ACL tear as it relates to Charles. 

What should the expectations be for Moeaki and Berry?

Tight end and safety aren't positions where you see a lot of ACL tears. ACL injuries are more likely for players who are athletic and involved in a high volume of plays -- i.e. not tight ends. Usually safeties are more involved in causing ACL tears than experiencing them -- remember Bernard Pollard's hit on Tom Brady?

A good comparison for Moeaki is Cincinnati's Jermaine Gresham. Gresham tore his ACL before his senior year at Oklahoma, and similar to Moeaki, he had an entire year to recover. Gresham's numbers the first two years in Cincinnati show that he has been able to produce. 

2010: 52 receptions, 471 receiving yards, 4 TDs.
2011: 56 receptions, 596 yards, 6 TDs.

The perception is that it is not until the second year back from an ACL tear that a player will return to his former self. Gresham's numbers improved, but that could be the result of the natural progression from a player's rookie season to his second year.

Moeaki has been injury-prone throughout his career -- he missed 15 games in his final three years at Iowa -- and his experience returning from injury should help him in his return. He figures to once again be a big part of Kansas City's passing game as he tries to build off his strong rookie season (47 receptions, 556 receiving yards and three touchdowns).

The Chiefs were smart to go out and sign another tight end in Kevin Boss. Last season they were thin at the position and struggled to find a replacement for Moeaki.

That was also the case when Berry went down. The options at safety behind Berry were not good: 32-year-old Jon McGraw and Sabby Piscitelli, two players who are currently not on an NFL roster.

The most notable defensive back to return from an ACL injury is Rod Woodson, who tore his ACL in Week 1 in 1995 and remarkably came back that season to play in the Super Bowl. Woodson was productive the next year, intercepting six passes and making the Pro Bowl.

Final verdict: Both Moeaki and Berry have a chance to be productive this season, especially Berry. Woodson proves it's easier to quickly return when you're the one delivering the hits instead of taking them.

Follow Chiefs reporter C.J. Moore on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLKC and @cjmoore4.