Update: Alshon Jeffery signs w/ Eagles

Mon Feb 27, 2017 8:54 am

#Bears are not expected to franchise Alshon Jeffery again at > $17M, sources say. A top WR on the market will generate lots of buzz in Indy

5:01am · 27

Adipost · Mon Feb 27, 2017 9:16 am

Mon Feb 27, 2017 9:18 am

I think there's still a chance he signs a deal w/ the Bears, but if he hits the open market you gotta think the Bears are already behind the 8 ball if a contending team is determined to sign him. Hell, even the Eagles are a far more convincing franchise to go play for right now because of Wentz, much less a team like Seattle, New England, Atlanta, etc. The Bears have nothing to offer him but money, and even if they made the biggest offer I really doubt Alshon would take more money to come back to a sinking ship.

mshu7 · Mon Feb 27, 2017 9:45 am

I don't think there's a chance in hell the Bears re-sign him at this point. There are many reasons why Jeffrey wouldn't want to come back to Chicago, biggest of which is the fact that he's about to get PAID way more than he's worth.

DaSuperfan · Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:05 am

Yeah, I don't see him signing a long term deal with the Bears at this point. What's more important is that the Bears are losing a true #1 WR IMO and a guy that we originally drafted. Sure, he's had his warts the past couple of seasons but I still think he's a stud WR and not having him on the roster further depletes our offense and really creates another hole that Pace now must fill. Relying on an injury prone White and an unproven Meredith isn't really a recipe for offensive success. What also bugs me is that we are just letting him walk without getting anything in return. I think they could have tagged him and possibly sought after a trade, or even bought more time to re-sign him.

RING4CHI · Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:21 am

UOK wrote:The Bears have nothing to offer him but money, and even if they made the biggest offer I really doubt Alshon would take more money to come back to a sinking ship.

Which is exactly why the Bears should just let AJ walk. Jeffery has nothing to offer the Bears but taking up a good chunk of cap space because the Bears have nothing to offer AJ but money. Even if he does come back, Jeffery will be on the downside of his prime before the Bears are competing again.

SC Bear · Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:26 am

He is not a top 10-12 wr in the league. Offer him what he is worth and if you can't sign him move on. I would not pay him more than a comparable 15-20 wr.

Adipost · Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:51 am

RING4CHI wrote:
UOK wrote:The Bears have nothing to offer him but money, and even if they made the biggest offer I really doubt Alshon would take more money to come back to a sinking ship.
Which is exactly why the Bears should just let AJ walk. Jeffery has nothing to offer the Bears but taking up a good chunk of cap space because the Bears have nothing to offer AJ but money. Even if he does come back, Jeffery will be on the downside of his prime before the Bears are competing again.

The Bears have more cap space than they can possibly use.

RING4CHI · Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:54 am

Adipost wrote:
RING4CHI wrote:
UOK wrote:The Bears have nothing to offer him but money, and even if they made the biggest offer I really doubt Alshon would take more money to come back to a sinking ship.
Which is exactly why the Bears should just let AJ walk. Jeffery has nothing to offer the Bears but taking up a good chunk of cap space because the Bears have nothing to offer AJ but money. Even if he does come back, Jeffery will be on the downside of his prime before the Bears are competing again.
The Bears have more cap space than they can possibly use.

OK? Are you advocating the Bears overpay Jeffery because they can?

The Bears have nothing to offer AJ to surround him with the next 2-3 years while in his prime.

Rusty Trombagent · Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:27 am

RING4CHI wrote:
Adipost wrote:
RING4CHI wrote:
UOK wrote:The Bears have nothing to offer him but money, and even if they made the biggest offer I really doubt Alshon would take more money to come back to a sinking ship.
Which is exactly why the Bears should just let AJ walk. Jeffery has nothing to offer the Bears but taking up a good chunk of cap space because the Bears have nothing to offer AJ but money. Even if he does come back, Jeffery will be on the downside of his prime before the Bears are competing again.
The Bears have more cap space than they can possibly use.
OK? Are you advocating the Bears overpay Jeffery because they can?

The Bears have nothing to offer AJ to surround him with the next 2-3 years while in his prime.

the bears are rebuilding. lets make that rebuild harder by turning one of our few strengths into a weakness!

this is such a weird, defeatist attitude.

Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:37 am

Pace believes the Bears are infinitely closer to being rebuilt than reality would dictate.

Then again, he could pull a few wild moves in free agency and the draft that make things a bit clearer, but honestly? It feels like he'll have to go hog-wild in free agency to fix a team that was supposed to be rebuilt through the draft.

Rusty Trombagent · Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:38 am

also brad biggs is making me mad too.

snake95 · Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:38 am

I'll reserve judgement until I see if and what Pace offers Jeffery, but considering he could have possibly locked AJ up at around 11 -12 million a season last year this seems like a huge gamble for a GM who purged the team of Marshall,Bennett, Forte, and now Cutler ( yes I know all the reasons and narratives why) and hasn't really replaced any of them except possibly Howard. I certainly can't factor in Kevin White who can't be counted on to be more than #2 or #3 at this point. Letting the one playmaker on offense that that defenses have to game plan for and a home grown player get away just seems a little crazy. I'll try and trust that they know more than myself which they should.

EricTighe · Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:56 am

Wow I hope we re-sign AJ.

Are we becomming the 76ers of the NFL. Expecting Pace and Fox to come out and say trust the proccess.

Hematite · Mon Feb 27, 2017 12:06 pm

Pierre Garcon, come on down.

bearsfaninaz · Mon Feb 27, 2017 12:09 pm

I wonder if this makes trade down way more likely if he isn't signed. If possible that is.

Otis Day · Mon Feb 27, 2017 12:10 pm

Someone tell me why he would resign with the Bears? Are they winners? NO Will they be winners(as in competing for a NFC title) within 2 yrs? NO. Does he have faith in the QB(s) here? NO, because who in the hell knows who the QB is.

If he has any sense, he leaves ASAP.

donkeykong · Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:03 pm

So essentially we have no QB and once we get a QB...he now doesn't have a legitimate WR on the team?!

I don't understand why you let your biggest offensive weapon walk! At the very least we have a #1 WR, #1 RB and a line that's fairly sorted out. Why would you remove one of those positives from the equation when there are so many other things to address? There's no equivalent to AJ you're just going to grab in FA...I just don't understand this.

RING4CHI · Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:11 pm

RustyTrombone wrote:
RING4CHI wrote:
Adipost wrote:
RING4CHI wrote:
UOK wrote:The Bears have nothing to offer him but money, and even if they made the biggest offer I really doubt Alshon would take more money to come back to a sinking ship.
Which is exactly why the Bears should just let AJ walk. Jeffery has nothing to offer the Bears but taking up a good chunk of cap space because the Bears have nothing to offer AJ but money. Even if he does come back, Jeffery will be on the downside of his prime before the Bears are competing again.
The Bears have more cap space than they can possibly use.
OK? Are you advocating the Bears overpay Jeffery because they can?

The Bears have nothing to offer AJ to surround him with the next 2-3 years while in his prime.
the bears are rebuilding. lets make that rebuild harder by turning one of our few strengths into a weakness!

this is such a weird, defeatist attitude.

If I'm not upbeat after 9-23 the last two years, consider me a defeatist.

Also...

DaSuperfan · Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:30 pm

Honestly, the last two seasons from a production standpoint can be attributed to injuries in 2015 and extreme inconsistency at QB in 2016.

He's still a top 10 WR in league IMO and to me, is a true #1. Guys like him don't always grow on trees and are tough to find. If you get a consistent QB, Alshon's value goes through the roof. Letting him go to FA and getting nothing in return just creates another hole on a team that really can't afford to create more holes. JMO.

Mr.Irrelevant · Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:47 pm

Teams don't get better by overpaying for players either. Does anyone think that Jeffery has earned the right to be the highest paid WR in the game? (which is what the franchise tag would make him)

it's possible the bears will lose him now, but it's also possible that allowing him to test the market will bring his price down to a reasonable amount. If that means $13M per year then it saves almost $5M to bring in another Akeem Hicks type player.

And if he does go elsewhere, then we have enough money to bring in 2 $8M players to replace him.

IotaNet · Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:48 pm

Hmmmm ... in 5 seasons, he only played the full 16-game schedule twice. In the other 3, he missed an average of 5.6 games. Not sure that The bears want to break the bank on somebody who can’t be counted on to answer the bell consistently. And the 4 game(!) suspension for PED use doesn't help his case.

RING4CHI · Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:49 pm

DaSuperfan wrote:Honestly, the last two seasons from a production standpoint can be attributed to injuries in 2015 and extreme inconsistency at QB in 2016.

He's still a top 10 WR in league IMO and to me, is a true #1. Guys like him don't always grow on trees and are tough to find. If you get a consistent QB, Alshon's value goes through the roof. Letting him go to FA and getting nothing in return just creates another hole on a team that really can't afford to create more holes. JMO.

The Bears could tag him just to get the draft picks that come with another team signing your franchise tag player but no one is giving up those up for Alshon Jeffery.

The hope in getting something in return for AJ is he gets a big contract elsewhere and the Bears get a third or fourth round compensatory pick next year. Of course that gets weighed against any free agent signings the Bears do this year.

Hematite · Mon Feb 27, 2017 3:04 pm

For a receiver that pulls a disappearing act similar to Houdini, I cannot understand how some claim we need to sign him simply because he's a #1 WR. Above all else, being available is the most important factor. Give me somebody with less talent and the want to who stays on the field (ahem, Meredith) who may develop into a #1 and let the overpaid, overinjured, PED suspended Jeffery go. He is not worth that much and the fact that New England probably won't even take a sniff at his asking price, helps me sleep better at night.

Adipost · Mon Feb 27, 2017 3:08 pm

Hematite wrote:For a receiver that pulls a disappearing act similar to Houdini, I cannot understand how some claim we need to sign him simply because he's a #1 WR. Above all else, being available is the most important factor. Give me somebody with less talent and the want to who stays on the field (ahem, Meredith) who may develop into a #1 and let the overpaid, overinjured, PED suspended Jeffery go. He is not worth that much and the fact that New England probably won't even take a sniff at his asking price, helps me sleep better at night.

You are grossly undervaluing Alshon.

Hematite · Mon Feb 27, 2017 3:21 pm

Maybe, and at the same time, you may be overvaluing him. Who knows?!?!

Edit: If he is willing to sign a long term team friendly contract that pays him well, absolutely, I'll provide the pen to sign him. But he is not A.J. Green and shouldn't be paid at or above his contract. Just my opinion.

staleystarch · Mon Feb 27, 2017 3:32 pm

DaSuperfan wrote:Honestly, the last two seasons from a production standpoint can be attributed to injuries in 2015 and extreme inconsistency at QB in 2016.

He's still a top 10 WR in league IMO and to me, is a true #1. Guys like him don't always grow on trees and are tough to find. If you get a consistent QB, Alshon's value goes through the roof. Letting him go to FA and getting nothing in return just creates another hole on a team that really can't afford to create more holes. JMO.

For those saying how horrible AJ is I am curious to what the opinions of him will be if he ends up on a team that actually has an NFL quarterback to throw to him.

IotaNet · Mon Feb 27, 2017 3:41 pm

staleystarch wrote: ... For those saying how horrible AJ is I am curious to what the opinions of him will be if he ends up on a team that actually has an NFL quarterback to throw to him.

I don't think that anyone is saying he's horrible ... its just that he has not been available. And a 4-game suspension for PED use for a pro in his 5th year in the league?

That's inexcusable no matter who his quarterback is.

Rusty Trombagent · Mon Feb 27, 2017 3:43 pm

griping about alshon's contract is stupid. if you think he's overpaid, wait 2 years and he'll be underpaid after another 2 FA periods.

alexwilkins · Mon Feb 27, 2017 4:02 pm

I have no problem "overpaying" Alshon. I wouldn't call him injury prone. He's missed time to injury in 1 of the last 4 years. The sooner he's locked up, the sooner they can focus on who's throwing it to him.