The Eagles will likely target Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery if he reaches the free agent market, sources tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Chicago has the option of using the franchise tag on Jeffery for the second consecutive season, but such a move would come with a price tag of roughly $17.5MM.
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Jeffery isn’t the only wideout the Eagles have been linked to this offseason, as reports have also indicated the club is interested in the Redskins’ Pierre Garcon and the Dolphins’ Kenny Stills. A reunion with former Eagle/current Redskin DeSean Jackson is also reportedly on the table. However, Jeffery is regarded as the top receiver available in free agency, and is likely to command a hefty contract if Philadelphia wants to add another weapon for second-year quarterback Carson Wentz.
The Eagles are tight on cap space, which could make a Jeffery pursuit tricky, but the club is hoping to clear “significant” financial room in the coming weeks, something they’ve already started doing by releasing veteran players. Cornerback Leodis McKelvin was first on the chopping block earlier this week, while Philadelphia has also approached left tackle Jason Peters about a paycut. Other players such as Connor Barwin, Jason Kelce, Ryan Mathews, and Ron Brooks could also be cut soon, giving the Eagles even more space with which to work.
Jeffery, 26, comes with warts, as he’s battled injuries throughout his career and was suspended four games for PED usage in 2016. But he’s the only player resembling a No. 1 wideout on the open market, as he’s averaged more than 1,000 yards receiving and six touchdowns over the past four seasons while struggling through two subpar years and dealing with questionable quarterback play.
Let’s go get him. Would definitely swap mckelvin barwin brooks n Mathews if that’s enough room. Then see if we can’t add Josh Gordon for a 5th rounder and go from worst to first in WR category
I would like to see Wentz throwing to Jeffery, it would give Wentz a solid number one and instant red zone threat and it would relieve some pressure off Mathews. Jeffery is also quite young still, just a little injury prone. If somehow Gordon played in the NFL ever again and was added to that bunch I would hate to be a defensive coordinator, but I doubt that would ever happen.
Desean Jackson,Kenny Stills,Torrey Smith,and now Alshon Jeffery.
Im sure we’ll be connected 1 way or the other to any and every receiver available between now and the start of free agency,as well as prospects in the draft.its such an obvious need,every “source” probably has their own idea about what we’re going to do.
We have the more pressing issue of how we’re creating the cap room needed between now and then 1st.right now we’re not in any position to get into any bidding wars.
When is the date that we could start adding these guys?
Teams can begin to talk to free agents on March 7th,and then free agency officially opens on March 9th
Bears will most likely franchise him. They have no other major free agents. They have more cap room than any team in the league. And they have no reason to lose their best offensive player for nothing.
The Bears are in good shape at around 53m in space,but they dont have the most space.that’ll be the Browns,with around 107m in cap space.
They will be around $70M when they release Cutler, Royal, and possibly Houston
Well after the Bears release Cutler release Eddie Royal and release Lamarr Houston that I’ll give them another twenty-six million to go with that 53 so we’ll have roughly almost 80$m
Though the Eagles need an actual GTG @WR, i think the more pressing need is CB, and if they are going to spend a ton of money of high profile players, i would much rather them spend the money on CBs. 7 million combined is what SB champs Patriots paid for Amendola, Hogan, and Eldelman. The Eagles can land a guy like Stills pretty cheap and pick up a receiver in 1 of the 1st 3 rounds of the draft. We have no clue what a full off season can do for guys like DGB and Paul Turner and both are very cheap. Agholor is worthless on the trade market and still has 2 years left on his rookie deal. My fear with him is him having a stellar career elsewhere and we wasted a 1st on him. Thats why i don’t think its smart to dump him yet. No matter what, the eagles usually on keep 5 WRs on the roster. Matthews, agholor and DGB still have time left on their contracts…..Here is the problem with eagles WRs……Foles, Sanchez, Bradford and now Wentz. add in Mariota and Mettenberger for DGB…..How can anyone get into a rhythm when your teams QBs changes as often as underwear on a teenage girl? Yet the offense with all its changes over the past 4 years has never been worse than 16th in the league all the while, the defense has been at the bottom of the league in the same frame….Moving up to 13th this year with nothing at CB and was 3rd worst in the league in giving up big plays (20+ yards a play). We have the franchise QB now, add a Draft pick and bring in a few cheap FAs( and see if 1 sticks) along with the guys we already have and will finally get the same QB in Back-to Back years and spend the big bucks fixing the o-line and CBs. We went from 29th-13th in defense with a better DC but horrible CBs, imagine if they don’t give up all those big plays?
Yeah, what he said ^
The Eagles will be connected to every WR and will sign a low tier guy and draft someone as usual. Just a guess though
Jeffery is a #2 reciever. He’s tall and has a large catch area but isn’t a great route runner or exceptionally fast. His hands are just about average. He smells payday and someone is going to overpay. The Bears have more holes to fill and WR isn’t their #1 need. His payday would be at the cost of at least 2 solid players. Pass on Jeffery
It’ll cost the eagles closer to 3 players they’ll have to cut just to sign Jeffrey and their draft picks. Assuming the draft picks cost a collective $15 mil, Jeffrey cost at least $13 mil, that’s $28 mil for 1 free agent. The eagles will have to downgrade all over the field just to upgrade at one position. Forget about signing a corner or any of our FA’s. For some reason the fans torched Chip for not replacing guys he got rid of, but when Howie hero does it, it’s all good…I. Don’t. Get. It.
All this Howie love because he traded away and released contracts to get Wentz. The exact samething he Vetoed just 1 year prior when Chip tried to get Mariota. The only reason Mariota isnt here is because Howie wanted his job back and talked Lurie out of it by saying “no 1 player is worth all those picks” . Howie is a power hungry snake in the grass that has destroyed this franchise. Remember people, he is the guy that chased chip kelly down with 7 million a year (3rd highest paid HC) after Chip actually said no to the job. Who turns down 7 million. Howie proved twice now that its his way or the highway. Once when not taking no for a chip answer, then again when he realized chip wasn’t going to be his whooping boy.
Eagles draft picks wont cost 15mil.outside of the 1st round,nobody will make over a million.its more in the 7-8mil range.
Ok, we’ll call it $20 mil if you are correct for Alston and the draft. They’re roughly $10.5 under after saying bye to McKelvin. So we cut Barwin ($7.75), Matthews ($4), DGB (@$1), And Brooks ($1.6) to get $14.35 mil. $9.5 of that goes to the aforementioned picks and WR, leaving just under $5 mil. Also Carroll and Logan walk (who else am I missing?) I’m no GM, but I am a non juice drinking fan…it seems like a whole lot of down grades to me with possibly 2 upgrades at WR and hopefully a good 1st rounder. If you add Peters to that cut list, a downgrade on the o-line and $9.5? to the cap…14.5 mil to fill in at least 6 downgrades doesn’t make sense. That’s all we’ve seen for the past 4 years…
Still to high with that 9.5m for draft picks.in the Eagles current draft spots,the players drafted were paid less then 6.5m.even if you add a 10% increase,you’re going just over 7.
Moving on from our corners wont be downgrades.we have Curry in place to take over for Barwin.R.Mathews missed most of the year,so he wont be missed.Seumalo is likely to take over at either lg or c,making both Barbre or Kelce expandable without a significant downgrade.thats another 2 or 3.8m.Marcus Smith is another 1.5 if we move on from him.and then theres t.Peters could take a pay cut,or we could move on.that would slide Lane Johnson over,and he could actually end up being an improvement.we played most of this season with Vaitai at rt,and he improved as the season progressed,so we’d be basicly replacing Peters with Johnson.Mychal Kendricks is another 1.8m in savings.
Eagles have plenty of options to save money w/o many serious downgrades.and that wasnt ever really my point,which was your original 15mil projection for draft picks was way off.im not drinking any Kool-aid,but making a significant addition in free agency isnt as far fetched as you think.
*the players drafted last year in the Eagles current draft spots*
The 20 mil was to Alshon (at least 13) and the draft (as you said, 7). I’m fine with moving on from kelce, peters, and kendricks as well. I know, defensively they have constant rotations on their d-line bc of Schwartz’ demanding defensive scheme. Once again, creating zero depth in talent. An edge rusher would have been nice if drafted last year. I’m not a Vaitai fan. I don’t get the love. His success in the pass game should have been a credit to Celek who helped a lot (look at his catches during those games). Ertz also disappeared for a while after the Redskins game here and there bc Vaitai is a backup. I could be wrong, but the reports on him were negative until the suspension. Then he was “an up-and-coming star” like all of the eagles late picks. What I see as downgrades and u see as positives are different. If you look at what you think we should do, how many eagles could start on Dalas, NYG, Washington? These teams don’t have to overhaul, yet we’re still in “good shape”
Ermahgerd!!!
Ok,not significant downgrades dont translate to upgrade.Cowboys finished 13-3,Giants finished 11-5.naturally,theyre in better shape then we are.thats pretty much the whole point to upgrading wr & cb,to try to close that gap.
Dallas is also 12.5m over the cap,and no,moving on from Romo will not solve that problem.Giants have around 22 in space,but Jpp and Hankins are both pretty key free agents.washington has plenty of room,but Cousins will take up a nice chunk of that,and both Garcon and Djax are free agents.
Moving on from Barwin,and possibly M.Smith will remove our current depth.thats true,but neither of them are irreplaceable.and we can do it at a cheaper cost then their combined cost of close to 11m.and depth de’s arent necessarily something you have to draft a year in advance to get.
Im also hoping we dont have to move on from Peters.im hoping he accepts the pay cut or restructures.but if we have to,depth and competition could be added.Brent Celek disappeared before Vaitai was even out there.hes aging,its natural,and thats pretty much why Trey Burton was able to breakout this year.and Ertz was also inconsistent before Vaitai was even out there.he was actually hurt for a few weeks before that switch even took place.
Yes,i do think the Eagles are in good shape,because we have options in the areas we need to improve.we need to improve cb,in a draft where its considered a deep cb draft.we also have options in both free agency and the draft at both rb & wr.and btw,no where in any of my comments do i even mention Jeffery.i dont view him as a realistic possibility,but i wouldnt be mad if we got him.
This is an Alshon Jeffrey article. That is why I commented on it. The amount of money its costs for a injury prone, 1 strike PED offender is not the right direction. If you believe all of those players leaving can be replaced, I’m with you, but it’s years away. If you listen to any sports radio and listen to these guys that think the eagles are close, from my seat, are insane.
The eagles are the only Philly team I don’t get. The direction, to me is confusing. This isn’t a rebuild if you keep sproles and Peters and cash out on high priced FA’s. This isn’t a “right there” team barring a miracle. I don’t get it.
They have to hit the next 2-3 drafts or this will be a paper bag team. I have zero faith in Howie bc he has not shown anything and has actually gone against his own actions in trading picks for Wentz, which Chip wanted to do for Mariota.
The point to article is Jeffery,but it wasnt ever the point to my reply to your comment.and i dont pay any mind to any sports talk personalities.
I dont think we’re gonna become super bowl contenders overnight,but i dont think we’re as far as you think.who saw the Falcons coming this year?i also dont think the gap between us and the Cowboys are that far apart.in 1 offseason they went from bottom 5 to a 13-3 team.eli is winding down in ny,and the Skins barely finished better then us despite the holes we had on our team.and theres a big difference between what Howie did to get Wentz,and what we wouldve had to do to get Mariota.Kelly wanted to give Tennessee any players and picks they wanted,and Cox was a part of that mix.Howie traded Kellys trash.the 1st he gave up,he got back for Bradford.dont forget about Kelly trading McCoy for Alonso,Foles and a 2nd for Bradford.Kelly ran a offense based on speed,and he got rid of all his best weapons.Kelly was a absolute disaster,which is why hes still searching for a job now.1 rb,1wr & 1 cb and we’re in position to compete with anyone.
I get it though,you dont see it that way.we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
I will say that still depends alot on what happens with Peters.its hard to overlook that we were 5-1 when we had both Peters and Johnson out there.and even 1 loss was the game against Detroit,where we basicly gave them the game.
And the 1 thing that really worries me with Roseman is his evaluation of defensive backs.Asomugha,Drc,Williams,Fletcher,Jarrett,Chung.he hasnt had alot of luck there.but he did hit on Jenkins,and Brandon Boykin.so hopefully he hits again on atleast 1 corner this offseason.maybe we can bring Boykin back in,since hes a free agent and coming off of 2 not so great seasons,as well as an injury.could possibly get him cheap.
Boykin had 1 decent season here then disappeared year 2 and did nothing in Pittsburgh. No thanks. There are other options, plus the CB loaded draft. All we can hope for is joe douglas has all the draft say so. Howie can get back to doing contracts and making the right money moves to get a couple of FAs that can help out our terrible CB situation. They don’t need to be Sherman and norman, just better than what we had. 3rd in the league only by 1 play from being #1 worst in the league giving up big plays. Our #14/15th pick better be a shutdown day 1 CB, not a WR. Yes, our WRs were not very good last year but Wentz wasn’t completely accurate either. Way to many overthrows, to many behind the receiver throws, and a few underthrown balls. Still with all that and #10 in drops @24(2015 #1 with 37) he still completed 62%. 1 decent WR either drafted or a vet( since Matthews is our oldest WR @24yo and only in his 3rd year. Did anyone think at all that maybe we are just missing a solid vet to show these kids how to play WR. Maybe a garcon, boldin, vincent jackson, Garcon would be ideal for the next 2-3 years, Boldin or Jackson on maybe a 1 year deal just to play teacher. Hell they are giving 8 million a year for Daniel( a back up QB with a 1-1 record, 1 td throw on 78 attempts in 7 years) talk about a waste…they still owe him 8 million of guaranteed money, yet they are talking about releasing barwin, peters and kelce that actually play and contribute. Thats how bright Howie Roseman is.
Daniel came with Pederson.at the time of his signing we were still picking 13th in the draft,and had mr. Brittle Bradford still at qb.getting up to 2 wasnt a given.Peters,Barwin & Kelces situations are purely money related,which will be Daniels situation next year.
I’m so sick of the chip kelly screwed this franchise BS. Chip Kelly turned down the Browns and the Eagles a was going to return to college ball where he belongs. Howie Roseman is a power hungry, 0 knowledge of football players,Piece of crap. He is a finance Lawyer, and his only job should be contracts. PERIOD! Roseman chased Chip Kelly down and offered this loon 7 million a year, at the time it was the 3rd highest salary of any NFL coach. Chip had 0 NFL exp, not even a waterboy with and NFL team. Howie screwed this franchise and fans and Lurie are too dumb to see it. Chip dumped this player and screwed over that play…NO, Lurie and/or Roseman could have vetoed any move but didn’t. Chip Kelly should have never been here in the 1st place, Howie did this because he hates “no” for an answer. The only thing Howie didn’t guess was that Chip wasn’t going to be a “yes sir” kind of guy like Pederson is. What happens when Pederson decides that howie isn’t giving him what he needs and wants more power? No exp Chip even knew Howie was impossible to work with as did actual exp HC candidates that openly refused the Eagles job stating “they were not fond of the franchise power structure” AKA ” don’t like Roseman” Stop blaming Chip, he should have never been hired.
You’re tired of the “chip kelly ruined the team”,and im glad you feel that way…we had an offense that needed a qb.now we have a qb that needs an offense.as far as experienced coaches not wanting to come here,back that claim up,please.every coach hired since Lurie took over has been new blood.i dont remember us even trying to interview any experienced coaches.
People dont understand the love for Howie,i dont understans the hate.im neutral to him,im willing to give him time.
Tom Coughlin turned down the job because he wanted some power with staff and personnel, something you and everyone in the world should agree, he well deserves. As for you can’t remember them even trying to interview exp coaches. Outside of Chip, they all had NFL exp. Most had HC exp, just not at the NFL level. The main reason no ex head coaches want to come here is because of Howie Roseman and his power trip. He chased away some pretty good football minds away from here my man.
Next sir, I was never a chip kelly fan, didn’t want him here in the 1st place. Though he did screw this team up in his 3 years, what moves did he make that actually screwed the team up? Jackson? McCoy? Let me ask you something ok? What did we win with Shady, D-Jax, Maclin? The last time we won a GD play-off game was 2008. Jackson was a rookie, shady got here 2009, along with Maclin. I enjoyed all 3 of them but in the end, what did we ever win outside of a few more regular season games with them? Do you think all 3 would still be here today? At the moment, we have 1 of the youngest teams in the NFL with a brand new QB. Wouldn’t you rather have Wentz grow with the rest of the youngsters?
Back to chip kelly. If not for Howie and his power appetite, chip would have never been here. Would you turn down 7 million a year knowing you already turned down the job and you were never as much as a waterboy at the NFL level? No-one wanted the job, what part are you having trouble understanding here? Gus Bradley was ready to sign the contract here but Howie wanted Chip Kelly and refused to take “no” for an answer. Howie thought Chip, being a no exp NFL HC, or even an NFL position coach, would just come in and bow to the master. Well, we all know how that turned out don’t we? Since joe banner decided enough was enough of howie roseman and how blind his childhood friend (lurie) was with his little boytoy and left for cleveland and howie took over, this franchise has completely went down hill up until drafting Wentz. Come on sir, even Andy lost his mind when he gave castillo(his o-line coach) the DC position. Was he too just tired of howie and his power trip that he did what he could to get fired? Though he still isn’t winning superbowls, he still has KC winning games and going to the play-offs 3 of his 4 years, and winning records all 4 years. yet here we sit 4 years later a different starting QB every year, rbs every year, cbs every year, terrible WRs and once again, no play-offs.
I believe things will get better around here now that we finally have a regular QB. All he needs now is some pieces around him and better CBs on defense. I’m just hoping that Joe Douglas gets most of the say so in FA and the draft and Howie goes back to doing what he is good at….CONTRACTS. You do know that before football, Howie has a degree as a finance lawyer right? How he became a GM in the NFL is beyond me. All i do know is since he got his power, this franchise has been nothing but a laughing stock. Hes been here 14 miserable years. He is great at working contracts, thats where it should have ended for him.
My grandfather went to the 1st ever Eagles home game in 1933 vs the Portsmouth Spartans( got beat 25-0 ) @ Bakerbowl. And Eagles green has ran through my family since. we’ve been season ticket holder since the vet opened in 1971, just this year i passed them on to my sons, as my GF did for my father and hopefully my sons continue. In other words my friend, there isn’t much i don’t know about the Eagles and i never ever just make things up. Though i may have my own views on things Eagles related that some may disagree with( the fun of a good debate), Many, many people agree with my thoughts on howie roseman. Once Lurie wakes up and cuts the umbilical cord that connects howie to him, i promise that this franchise will take off like a rocket. We finally got our QB 7 years and 9 QBs late, but at least we got him now. have a nice day.