It’s been trending this way for a while, but now it’s more or less official. The Eagles will release Alshon Jeffery at the beginning of the new league year, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.

The writing has been on the wall for some time, as when Jeffery and Malik Jackson had their contracts restructured last month we heard that both were on their way out. This latest news comes just a couple of days after the team cut DeSean Jackson, so clearly Philly is committed to completely overhauling their underwhelming receiving group as they enter somewhat of a rebuild. The Eagles have one of the worst cap situations in the league, so more veteran purging is likely still to come.

For Jeffery, this will wrap up a four-year run with the team that included plenty of highs and lows. Although his stint will end in disappointing fashion, he’ll always have a large place in franchise history after starting all 16 games and catching nine touchdowns during the 2017 season when they won Super Bowl LII.

Injuries sapped his effectiveness, and limited him to ten games in 2019 and just seven this past year. He only had six catches for 115 yards this season, so it’ll be very interesting to see what kind of interest he draws on the open market. Obviously he has a past history of production, but he’s now 31 with a signifiant injury history. He’ll find a home somewhere, but will likely struggle for much guaranteed money.

With the deadline to slash rosters to 53 players less than two hours away, the Eagles are still trying to move Alshon Jeffery‘s now-onerous contract.

The team is shopping the ninth-year receiver — as it has been doing since last year — according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). But the Jeffery situation has not changed much, making such a move difficult.

Jeffery is not on track to be ready for Week 1. Though he will not start the season on the PUP list, which would shelve him for the first six weeks, it does seem as if he will miss at least a couple of games, and he is owed $9.91MM in guaranteed salary.

While Jeffery fought through injuries to post productive seasons in 2017 and ’18, en route to his Eagles extension, he finished last season with just 43 catches for 490 yards. Injuries limited him to 10 games in 2019.

Despite making some moves at receiver this offseason, the Eagles have key issues going into the season. In addition to Jeffery’s continued injury concerns, Jalen Reagor is expected to miss at least part of Philadelphia’s September slate. Trade acquisition Marquise Goodwin opted out. This will leave 33-year-old DeSean Jackson — who missed most of last year with an injury — and JJ Arcega-Whiteside — who submitted a disappointing rookie season — as the team’s top wideouts entering Week 1.

For what it’s worth, GM Howie Roseman said he is not trying to move Jeffery and looks forward to having him contribute sooner rather than later (via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). “Alshon has come back with incredible energy,” Roseman said. “He’s in great shape. He’s motivated to win and be part of it. We are not actively shopping him, as reported. But I think for us, you know, let’s get the good player back as soon as possible. I’m not telling you that he’s ready for Week One, but we definitely anticipate him being ready before that PUP period.”

Despite all the speculation, it sounds like Alshon Jeffery is staying put. In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, head coach Doug Pederson said that the wide receiver is “a big part” of the Eagles’ offense.

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“All our veteran players, to be part of this virtual offseason like they have, I have been impressed and Alshon is of those guys,” head coach Pederson said (via Evan Macy of the Philly Voice). “The dialogue he’s had in the receivers room, the way he converses with some of the younger players…”

That’s all very promising for the Birds, given the drama they’ve had with the veteran in the past Last fall, Jeffery was accused of anonymously ripping into quarterback Carson Wentz and other teammates through the media. For his part, Jeffery has denied any involvement in that bombshell story.

Frankly, the Eagles don’t have much flexibility when it comes to Jeffery. Thanks to a restructuring of his deal in September, they’d be looking at a $26MM cap hit if they wanted to cut him. Jeffery is now guaranteed a base salary of $11.5MM for 2020. In total, he’s got upwards of ~$55MM guaranteed on his four-year deal.

Jeffery’s 2019 – capped with a trip to the injured reserve list – ended with 43 catches for 430 yards and four touchdowns. It was a step down from his 65 catches for 843 yards and six touchdowns in 2018 and his 11.4 yards per catch average last year marks a career low.

In September, the Eagles agreed to guarantee the bulk of Alshon Jeffery‘s 2020 base salary. One month later, they were already looking to trade the wide receiver, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Eagles GM Howie Roseman was looking for an exit strategy as Jeffery’s production dropped and his injuries piled up. In the fall, Jeffery was also accused of anonymously ripping into quarterback Carson Wentz and other teammates through the press.

Jeffery quickly found out that he was on the block and that only furthered the divide between him and the team. The trade deadline came and went without a taker for Jeffery – he remains on the roster today and Roseman is still looking for a way out.

“Obviously, the elephant in the room is Alshon,” Roseman said during a recent conference call. “Alshon’s got to get healthy. That’s the No. 1 priority for us and for him. He understands. He knows what’s being said about him. He understands that he has a lot to prove and he’s anxious to do that. So he’s not living in a bubble.”

Right now, it’s hard to see the Eagles finding a trade partner for the mercurial and oft-injured Jeffery. With more guaranteed money on the way, the Eagles would have to eat a big chunk of his salary in order to facilitate a trade, meaning that they’d get little value in return.

At this point, the Eagles can only hope to smooth things out with Jeffery, especially with DeSean Jackson coming off of a core muscle injury.