Philadelphia Eagles free agency update: Bears expected not to tag Alshon Jeffery
By Chuck Booth
With the Philadelphia Eagles on the hunt for skill position upgrades in free agency, it looks like one wide receiver will be there for the taking.
The Philadelphia Eagles have been linked to the Bears’ number one receiver since the trade deadline. With the addition of Mike Groh to the coaching staff, the whispers connecting Alshon Jeffery to Philadelphia got a little louder. Now that news is breaking that the Bears won’t use the franchise tag on Jeffery, those rumbles are slowly becoming a roar.
Using the tag for the second consecutive year would bump Jeffery’s salary up to 17.5 million dollars for the 2017-18 season. THat’s quite a lot for a Bears team that isn’t expected to compete to pay anyone in the short term regardless of talent. The Bears would likely want to sign him to a long-term deal but with Jeffery being an unrestricted free agent, not tagging him opens the door for the Philadelphia Eagles and other teams.
While Jeffery has knocked a few million dollars off of his value due to missing four games due to violating the league’s substance-abuse policy, he is still expected to be the top wide receiver on the market this offseason. Kenny Britt and Kenny Stills represent good options in free agency for the Philadelphia Eagles but Jeffery would automatically add a proven option to the receiving corps.
More from Eagles Rumors
- Philadelphia Eagles: Is it time for a Malcolm Jenkins reunion?
- Philadelphia Eagles: Is there a pathway to a Carson Wentz-Colts trade?
- Everson Griffen teases joining the Philadelphia Eagles
- Philadelphia Eagles 53-man roster likely set, no waive wire pickups
- Should the Philadelphia Eagles make a move for LeSean McCoy?
At 27-years-old, Jeffery can be signed to a multi-year deal with minimal (using this term loosely) risk. Also, while Jeffery hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season in two years that’s due to injuries limiting him to eight games in 2015 and the suspension limiting him to 12 last season. If he plays in all of the Philadelphia Eagles’ games with a competent quarterback under center (which he has in Carson Wentz), one could expect Jeffery to do pretty big things in this offense.
Next: Top 25 Philadelphia athletes voting is open!
The Philadelphia Eagles need additions to the receiving core and at the right price, they could do a lot worse than Jeffery. The window to sign all free agents opens on March 9th at 4 pm. After that, the Eagles may soon have a new wide receiver.