Philadelphia Eagles: Don’t play this game again, Alshon Jeffery

Alshon Jeffery, please don’t put Philadelphia Eagles fans through this again.

If you’re a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, there’s a very high probability that you can’t say the same about Alshon Jeffery.

The crown jewel of Howie Roseman‘s 2017 free agency haul, Jeffery rapidly fell out of favor with sports’ most passionate fan base for reasons both deserving and decidedly less so.

From his botched catch against the Saints, to the generally accepted theory that he was Josina Anderson’s anonymous source, and a steady string of injuries that held him out of 25 of the last 48 games he’s been under contract for, many wish the Eagles would have placed Jeffery on IR back in August instead of wasting a roster spot on a player who won’t play.

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But then you see reports about Jeffery participating at practice with pads on, and suddenly, all of that ill-will slips away.

Though some will argue that the Eagles would be better off without number 17 on the field, that’s simply not true. Say what you will about Jeffery’s speed or diminishing abilities to haul in 50/50 balls, but the 30-year-old wide receiver is still unquestionably a top-100 wide receiver at the bare minimum. Even if he’s 100/100, that’s a starter in three-wide receiver sets on a good portion of the NFL’s teams.

Since joining the Eagles, Jeffery has averaged 55 catches on 95 targets for 54.4 yards per game. While those aren’t Julio Jones numbers – let alone Week 4-8 Travis Fulgham numbers – that’s still good for 870 yards over a full 16 game season.

Just for context, the Eagles haven’t had a wide receiver surpass the 900-yard mark since Jordan Matthews hit 997 in 2015.

Even in Chicago, Jeffery was never a consistent 1,000-yard receiver, hitting that mark only twice over a five-year run. In his last two seasons before netting a one-year, $9.5 million deal with Philly, Jeffery averaged 814 yards per season, which, *gasp* is less than 870.

Had Jeffery been able to return to his vintage 2014 form, I imagine the Eagles would have been over the moon, but even after failing to hit the 800-yard mark over a full 16 game regular season in 2017, that didn’t stop Roseman and company from giving his WR1 a massive four-year, $52 million extension.

Even if Jeffery can just return at his mean level of production for the Eagles’ final eight games of the season, it could lift an incredibly hot and cold offense to heights we’ve only seen glimpses of in 2020.

Alshon, the ball is in your court; play well, and your legacy will be set, but stand us up yet again, and I doubt even the most patient Eagles fans will give you another chance.

Make no mistake; if Jeffery was released tomorrow, there’d be a half dozen teams, most playoff-bound, lining up to sign him for the rest of the season – assuming he’s fully healthy, of course. Do you know what team could really use another wide receiver for their playoff berth? Yeah, that’d be the Eagles.

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So Alshon Jeffery, if you’re reading this, please play… or don’t. I know the trade deadline has passed, your contract is all but certainly going to end up being a cap casualty this offseason, and outside of some sense of loyalty to a fanbase that’s been far from unwavering, but why not take the field for one final run and help the team that made you a champion make another run in a brutally bad NFC East? If nothing else, it’ll help to elevate your bargaining power in 2021’s free agency period, where you’ll finally be able to rid yourself of the Philadelphia Eagles once and for all. That’s worth what, 500 odd snaps in Doug Pederson‘s offense, right?

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