Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery had surgery on Wednesday morning to fix a torn rotator cuff, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Jeffery first suffered the injury in training camp and played through the pain all the way to a Super Bowl championship.
Jeffery’s toughness is commendable, but rotator cuff tears come in various degrees and his wasn’t of the most severe variety. By getting the surgery in February, the receiver should be ready well in advance of training camp.
Last offseason, the Eagles signed Jeffery to a one-year prove-it deal when the open market didn’t yield the kind of contract offers he wanted. The contract paid big dividends for both sides. The Eagles saw Jeffery catch 57 passes for 789 yards and nine touchdowns during the regular season. Jeffery, meanwhile, was rewarded with a fat four-year, $52MM extension in December.
Here’s more from the NFC East:
- Many have assumed that the Redskins wouldn’t be eligible for a compensatory pick by tagging and then rescinding a Kirk Cousins franchise tender, but that may not be the case, as Joel Corry of CBSSports.com writes. The Panthers and Dolphins both received 2017 draft compensation after revoking franchise and transition tags from cornerback Josh Norman and defensive end Olivier Vernon, respectively, in 2016. The Redskins have intimated that they could tag Cousins, but it is still viewed as improbable.
- Duce Staley missed out on becoming the Eagles‘ new offensive coordinator, but the team has given him a new title. In 2018, he’ll serve as the team’s “assistant head coach” in addition to his duties as running backs coach, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. This week, the Eagles promoted Mike Groh to OC, though head coach Doug Pederson will continue to call the plays.
- Wide receiver Brandon Marshall and cornerback Eli Apple are among the Giants‘ tough decisions this offseason, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com writes. Raanan sees Marshall getting cut, which is consistent with what Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com recently reported, and believes that Apple will be traded since he could yield a middle round pick in return. Veterans Janoris Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Ereck Flowers, and John Jerry will likely stay, in Raanan’s estimation, while wide receiver Dwayne Harris seems likely to get cut in order to save $2.4MM against the cap.
Same mentality of this proud city. Fly Eagles Fly
Clear as day that Alshon never wanted to be in Chicago. He missed multiple games with cramps. But he leaves Chicago and suddenly he’s playing the entire year with a legitimate injury? Just remember that when people say the Bears were dumb to let him leave. He never wanted to be there.
Nah, Alston got salty (like all players do) when the Bears place a franchise tag on him. He just wanted to get paid, but the Bears were worried about his long term health.
And he probably wanted a good locker room and QB situation…