NFL free agency gets going in just under a month, at which point teams will be blowing ridiculous amounts of cash to sign players that may or may not pan out. We will criticize and praise, and pretend we clearly know better than the people making the decisions. It’s our favorite past time!
One notable name on the market could be Chicago Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. The Bears used their franchise tag on him last season, at a cost of $14,599,000. If they used the tag a second straight season, it would cost $17.5 million. Back after the 2014 season, in which Jeffery had a second straight 1,000 yard season to go along with ten touchdowns, maybe they would have been willing to risk it. But the past two seasons, Jeffery has missed a combined 11 games. He still managed 800+ receiving yards each season, but the injuries have been significant.
Jeffery had more receiving yards each of the last two seasons than the 49ers leading receiver. Obviously, playing in the 49ers offenses these past two years might have hurt his numbers, but the point is, he is a better option than what the 49ers have rolled out lately.
Barring an extension in the next three weeks, Jeffery will likely be an unrestricted free agent next month. The folks at Bookmaker.eu put together a look at odds for where Jeffery is playing when Week 1 rolls around this fall. Here are the odds:
Chicago Bears +150
Philadelphia Eagles +900
San Francisco 49ers +1400
Tennessee Titans +1500
Miami Dolphins +2000
Baltimore Ravens +2500
Even though Jeffery has been hampered by injuries the past two seasons, I would not be surprised to see a fairly robust market for his services. There is a ton of cap space out there, and his explosive performances in 2013 and 2014 should be enough to get someone to overpay for a guy who could very well miss a chunk of time with injuries during his next contract.