Free agent Alshon Jeffery looking to sign with contender
Free agent Alshon Jeffery is looking to sign with a contender, the wide receiver told ESPN’s Josina Anderson on Thursday.
Jeffery, 27, is poised to test the free-agent market after the Chicago Bears declined to apply the franchise tag. The Bears would have been on the hook for approximately $17.5 million guaranteed in 2017 had they exercised the tag for a second straight year.
“I don’t have any hard feelings towards the Bears — it’s all love,” Jeffery said. “Whatever the next chapter is, I’m ready for it. I’m looking at the teams that obviously need a wide receiver, but also put me in the best situation to win a championship right now. I also want to see what other free agents may be attracted to the same teams I’ll be looking at. That can help that goal.”
General manager Ryan Pace said the Bears are interested in re-signing Jeffery when the new league year begins, but two sides did not discuss any parameters of a long-term agreement following the 2016 season. Chicago is expected to meet with Jeffery’s agent at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
The Bears do have exclusive negotiating rights with Jeffery until March 7, but a deal will not get done before free agency begins.
“Well, I’d say he knows us better than anybody else he could potentially go to,” Bears coach John Fox said at the combine. “I think it’s a positive feeling. With typically these things, it comes down to the market value. It’s like walking into a store right now at this time of year and there are no price tags. We kind of develop that moving forward. My experience has been that’s a very fluid process.”
Jeffery was the NFL’s second-highest paid receiver last year at $14.599 million, but Jeffery technically pocketed less because he served a four-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs.
There is no telling what Jeffery’s free agent contract is going to look like. Players typically are overpaid in free agency, and Jeffery’s situation figures to be no different, especially with the NFL’s salary cap expanding to $167 million. Also, top-flight receivers in their prime rarely make it to free agency, which is another reason why the interest level in Jeffery could be high.
From 2013-14, Jeffery combined for 174 receptions, 2,554 yards and 17 touchdowns. He played in just nine games in 2015 (54-807-4) due to a variety of soft issue injuries, and missed four games last year (52-821-2) because of the suspension.
Jeffery has yet to appear in a playoff game after five seasons with the Bears. Chicago is 9-23 the last two seasons under Fox.
