Perhaps already the most prolific pass receiver the Chicago Bears have ever drafted, the team has made a huge decision on Alshon Jeffery.
After a season of constant frustration on the health of the pass catcher, the Chicago Bears have decided to officially shut Jeffery down going into their week 17 matchup with the Detroit Lions.
Bears placed DL Eddie Goldman and WR Alshon Jeffery on the reserve/injured list. Could be end of Jeffery in Chicago.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 30, 2015
Is this the end of the Alshon era in Chicago?
There was a popular thought (and very unpopular in Chicago) that Jeffery was leaning heavily towards reuniting with his mentor, Brandon Marshall in New York after the season. There were whispers that Jeffery became disenfranchised with the Bears when they parted with Marshall, which lead to Alshon being reluctant to push himself to play through some of the injuries that plagued him in 2015.
This may have frustrated the Bears enough to not want to place a franchise tag on the star receiver, or offering him a contract, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
This would be a gigantic blow to the Bears receiving core which is defunct of talent, and what talent there is has question marks due to a lack of game play. Everyone thinks the world of Kevin White, the team’s first round draft pick in 2015, but without playing a single down in his rookie season certainly sets him back.
Another question is, what type of contract is Alshon expecting? While he has put up elite level numbers, does he expect a Dez Bryant or Demaryius Thomas (five years $70 million) type of deal?
The Bears will have around $55 million to spend in free agency, and a deal similar to Bryant or Thomas would have a cap hit ranging from $12 to $17 million over the next five years. This would leave the team with $40 million to address their linebacking core and offensive line.
It is clear the Bears have the right coaching staff in place, it is not up to GM Ryan Pace to put the right pieces in place, one of those pieces may very well be a decision on Alshon.
