Philadelphia Eagles unsure if Jeffery will be ready for start of 2018 season

Turns out, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery played all of last season with a torn rotator cuff.

As the Philadelphia Eagles continue to prepare for what should be an exciting offseason filled with plenty of moves in free agency along with the NFL Draft following their Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots, the team all of a sudden has a surprise concern to worry about when it comes to wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. On Wednesday, Eagles fans were caught off guard when hearing the news that Jeffery had surgery on a torn rotator cuff that he apparently had been battling the entire season, along with the playoffs.

Turns out, the injury happened on opening weekend of training camp for Jeffery, but luckily wasn’t serious enough to keep him sidelined throughout the year. Still, the fact that Jeffery suffered this injury and was able to accomplish everything that he did during his first year with the Eagles is truly amazing to think about. For a receiver playing on a one-year prove it deal to battle his way through this injury to go on and catch 57 passes for 789 yards with nine touchdowns shows just how special of a player Jeffery is, and Philadelphia clearly made the right decision to bring him on board last March.

Not to mention, Jeffery’s impressive play was good enough to earn him a hefty four-year extension during the middle of the season, so clearly Philadelphia’s investment paid off in a big way. And as impressive as it was to hear the news that Jeffery battled the injury the entire season, now the question becomes what to expect from the wideout’s recovery process over the next few months since his status for Week 1 in September could be at risk.

Obviously, the last thing Philadelphia wants to do is rush Jeffery back to full strength since the best option is for the wideout to take his time over the next six months or so, and while he could very well return in time for the preseason if all goes well, everyone knows that’s always easier said than done. Even if the Eagles have a few candidates who could easily step up in Jeffery’s place if needed such as Nelson Agholor or Torrey Smith, no team wants to be without their top option in the passing game, and Jeffery was one of the main factors behind the team being able to pull off the unimaginable by winning Super Bowl LII.

Next: 2017 NFL Draft: Re-selecting the first round

Take all of this into consideration with Carson Wentz‘s timetable to return still up in the air, the offseason just got a lot more interesting for the Super Bowl champions. But at least no matter what happens, Doug Pederson will have his boys ready to defend that Super Bowl title come September, even if Jeffery or Wentz are unable to go right away.