Alshon Jeffery

Eagles Take Alshon Jeffery Off PUP List

While Alshon Jeffery is not expected to make his 2018 debut in Week 1, the Eagles took a step toward getting their top wide receiver in games shortly after.

Jeffery passed a physical Friday and is now off the Eagles’ PUP list, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Jeffery staying on the PUP to start the regular season would have meant he’d have to sit out six weeks. Eagles doctors don’t believe he’ll need that long to finish up his recovery from shoulder surgery.

The Eagles are expected to get Jeffery back by Week 3. He’s been out all offseason because of a February procedure to repair a torn rotator cuff, one the seventh-year wideout said he played through last season.

With the Eagles last season, Jeffery averaged just 49.3 yards per game — his lowest figure since his rookie year. But he signed a long-term extension with Philadelphia and is a vital part of the defending Super Bowl champions’ passing attack. And now nearly recovered from the shoulder issue, the 28-year-old target may have a clearer path toward future 1,000-yard seasons.

Alshon Jeffery To Return By Week 3?

While it’s uncertain when Carson Wentz will be ready to return for the Eagles, his top wide receiver’s timetable is becoming clearer.

Alshon Jeffery is not expected to make it back by the time the defending Super Bowl champions begin their title-defense campaign, with Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reporting (via Twitter) the seventh-year wideout is set to miss at least the first two games of the season. However, optimism exists around a Week 3 return for Jeffery, the duo adds.

Jeffery’s been shelved throughout the offseason because of shoulder surgery. He played last season with a torn rotator cuff. The Eagles plan to activate Jeffery from the PUP list this weekend, and it looks like he’ll avoid the Reserve/PUP list to start the regular season. A Reserve/PUP distinction would mean the Eagles would have to operate without their No. 1 wideout for the first six regular-season weeks.

Doug Pederson said Tuesday no Jeffery decision will be made until next week, per Jeff McLane of Philly.com (on Twitter), but it looks like the Eagles have a late-September Jeffery re-emergence tentatively scheduled. However, it’s not certain that will happen. Jeffery has not practiced in 2018.

Jeffery can return to practice once being activated from the PUP list, but Eagles doctors believe it’s best for Jeffery to miss at least the first two games of the season as he finishes up a recovery from February surgery, Schefter and Mortensen report. The 28-year-old target’s caught passes on a side practice field steadily, and Eagles medical personnel have advised team brass Jeffery’s “significant” progress should allow him to avoid the Reserve/PUP list, the ESPN duo adds.

The Eagles signed Jeffery to a four-year extension late last season. His Philadelphia debut (789 receiving yards, nine touchdowns) was not as successful as some of his top Bears seasons, but the 6-foot-3 pass-catcher still caught three playoff TDs and was a vital presence during the Nick Foles-led Super Bowl march. Philly returns Zach Ertz and Nelson Agholor as key receiving presences from its Super Bowl run and added Mike Wallace and Dallas Goedert to the mix. The Eagles added Markus Wheaton and Kamar Aiken as well, but neither is a lock to made the 53-man roster. They might pursue an outside upgrade via the trade market or waiver wire, Philly.com’s Zach Berman tweets.

Jeffery’s injury looks set to delay his 2018 debut, and it’s possible Wentz will be on the sideline with him when the Eagles host the Falcons to kick off this season.

Carson Wentz Not Cleared For Contact; Latest on Alshon Jeffery

Despite being cleared for 11-on-11 drills last weekend, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has still not been cleared for contact, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (via Twitter). We are less than 11 days away from the team’s September 6 opener against the Falcons, and as Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com notes, head coach Doug Pederson has previously indicated that he would like Wentz to practice for a full week after being cleared for contact before he plays in an actual game.

Which means, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com observes (via Twitter), time is getting short if Wentz is to be under center on Week 1. Pederson, meanwhile, declined to say when Wentz might be cleared. He said simply, “[w]hen they clear him, he’ll be cleared.”

Recovery from torn ACLs typically takes nine to 12 months, and September 10 will mark nine months from the time of Wentz’s ACL tear. He has consistently maintained that it will be a close call as to whether he will be ready to go for the start of the regular season, and the fact that he has still not been cleared for contact casts his chances into deeper doubt. Of course, reigning Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles will serve as the team’s signal-caller until Wentz is ready (though after Foles’ atrocious preseason, Eagles fans may not be entirely comfortable with that prospect).

And, while Wentz’s recovery has dominated headlines when it comes to injured Eagles, McLane notes in a separate tweet that Pederson also did not have an update on wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, who is still on the PUP list. If Jeffery remains on PUP when the season starts, he will be forced to miss at least the first six weeks of the season.

Eagles’ Alshon Jeffery To Miss Games?

Alshon Jeffery may need more time to recover than initially expected. Jeffery is progressing according to plan, but the timing of his rotator cuff surgery means there’s a chance that he might not be ready to go in Week 1, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets

[RELATED: Carson Wentz Unlikely To Play In Preseason]

Jeffery is currently on the offseason PUP list, which has no real bearing on his roster status for the regular season. However, if Jeffery remains on PUP when the season starts, he’ll be forced to miss at least the first six weeks of the season. That would be a major blow to the Eagles, particularly when considering that quarterback Carson Wentz is not a lock to play in the opener either.

Despite playing through the rotator cuff injury, Jeffery caught 57 passes for 789 yards and nine touchdowns last season. He went on to add three more TDs in the playoffs, which came shortly after he signed a substantial four-year extension with the Eagles.

The Eagles have depth at the wide receiver position, but none of the other receivers have the same big-play ability as Jeffery. If Jeffery misses time, Nelson Agholor and Mike Wallace figure to see extra targets while Mack Hollins and Markus Wheaton may get more involved than previously expected. Recent addition Kamar Aiken, meanwhile, would have improved odds of making the 53-man cut.

NFC East Notes: Giants, Jeffery, Redskins

Moving to a 3-4 defense, the Giants traded Jason Pierre-Paul to a team that uses a 4-3 scheme. But the Giants do not view Bradley Chubb‘s seemingly superior fit for a 4-3 look as a deal-breaker. New Giants DC James Bettcher doesn’t believe Chubb having played only in a 4-3 setup as enough of a deterrent for the team to automatically pass on him. However, Chubb is 6-foot-4 and 269 pounds, a large frame for an outside ‘backer.

Look at Markus Golden who came out of college in Missouri as a 4-3 defensive end who had his hand in the ground,” Bettcher said, via Tom Rock of Newsday. “Comes out and two years later has double-digit sacks in this scheme. You talk about Chandler Jones who was in New England as a 4-3 defensive end and came to this scheme. It’s just like anything else, there are new things you have to learn, but it’s still playing football. It’s still rushing off the edge.”

Of course, the Giants aren’t exactly going to say Chubb is out of the question for their scheme, since the N.C. State talent could entice a pass rush-seeking team to trade up. The perceived gap between Chubb and the rest of the edge-rushing class could create a market for the Giants’ No. 2 pick that goes beyond the quarterback position. But Bettcher at least is playing the part of a coach who does not believe that Chubb’s run as a 4-3 end will be too much of a deterrent for his 3-4 approach. Chubb visited the Giants on Thursday.

Here’s more out of the Big Apple, along with a couple of other NFC East cities.

  • A team that’s largely regarded linebacker as a second- or third-tier position for many years, the Giants have now committed a staggering amount to that position compared to how it was represented on the 2017 payroll. Former first-round pick Alec Ogletree, and his $10.5MM-per-year deal that ranks third among all off-ball ‘backers, is now in the fold. And, somewhat quietly, the Giants added outside linebacker Kareem Martin for $5MM per year. Last season’s Giants did not have close to that capital allocated to any of its linebackers. Big Blue’s linebacker spending is also spiking considerably as well because of Olivier Vernon‘s relocation to outside ‘backer, Rock writes. Vernon’s $17MM-AAV figure is second only to Von Miller at this position.
  • Out until at least training camp because of rotator cuff surgery, Alshon Jeffery was confronted with the possibility of this surgery occurring last summer and nullifying his 2017 season. Having just signed a one-year Eagles deal and eyeing a big payday, Jeffery did not think that arrangement was going to work for him. “I was like, ‘No, there’s no way you’re going to do that,” Jeffery said (via Les Bowen of Philly.com) of a 2017 surgery. “We got to figure out another situation.'” Despite playing through a significant shoulder malady, Jeffery caught 57 passes for 789 yards and nine touchdowns. He added three more TDs in the playoffs.
  • It’s not out of the question that 2018 is Josh Norman‘s last year with the Redskins, Rich Tandler of NBC Sports Washington writes. Although the Redskins would still have $6MM in dead money if they were to release Norman after this season, they’d create $8.5MM in cap space. Norman’s 2019 cap figure is $14.5MM. He remains the league’s highest-paid cornerback despite two free agency periods having passed since his Washington agreement. While it’s fairly early to navigate against the 2019 cap, Washington is projected to hold the second-lowest amount of cap space next year.

Eagles’ Alshon Jeffery Out At Least 6 Months

Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery will be sidelined for “at least six months” after undergoing rotator cuff surgery, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jeffery is likely to miss the 2018 preseason, and his status for the regular season opener is unclear. While a source tells Anderson that Jeffery’s availability for Week 1 is “unsure,” the “expectation” is that he’ll be ready to suit up.Alshon Jeffery (Vertical)

As reports indicated earlier today, Jeffery originally suffered his shoulder injury during 2017 training camp, and played through the pain for the entire campaign and through Philadelphia’s Super Bowl run. While Jeffery post a somewhat disappointing 57 receptions and 789 yards, he did manage to get into the end zone nine times (second-most of his career). The Eagles clearly liked what they saw, as the club inked Jeffery to a four-year, $52MM extension before the regular season concluded.

Even if Jeffery is able to suit up for Week 1 in 2018, there’s reason to wonder if he’ll need a few games to ramp back up to full speed. His availability could cloud the Eagles’ wide receiver decisions in the coming weeks — Torrey Smith, for one, was expected to be a candidate for release this offseason, but it’s possible he’s retained if Philadelphia is worried about Jeffery’s outlook. Other wideouts on the Eagles’ roster include Nelson Agholor, Mack Hollins, and Shelton Gibson.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Jeffery, Cousins

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:

Eagles, Alshon Jeffery Agree To Extension

Alshon Jeffery will be in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future. The Eagles announced (via Twitter) that they have signed the wideout to a four-year extension. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Facebook) that the deal is worth $52MM, with another $1MM worth of incentives each season. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes (via Twitter) that the deal includes $27MM in guaranteed money.

“Alshon has been a tremendous addition to this organization on and off the field,” the team said in a statement. “We place a priority on making sure we are able to build the team around quality players like Alshon who embrace this team and this city the way he has. We are excited about his future here.”

Alshon JefferyFollowing a tumultuous 2016 campaign with the Bears that included a four-game ban for performance-enhancing drugs, Jeffrey signed a one-year “prove-it” deal with the Eagles during the offseason. The 27-year-old has had a bounce-back campaign in Philadelphia, hauling in 43 receptions for 619 yards and seven touchdowns. While the wideout is unlikely to match his two-straight 1,000-yard campaigns between 2013 and 2014, he’s still proving to be one of the more productive receivers in the game. Pro Football Focus has been relatively fond of his performance in 2017, ranking Jeffrey 34th among 116 eligible receivers.

Perhaps more importantly, Jeffrey has provided quarterback Carson Wentz with another reliable target, and the Eagles’ receiver has played a significant role in the team’s 10-1 record. Jeffrey has played 100 more snaps than number-two wideout Nelson Agholor, and he added some much-needed experience to a receivers corps that includes a pair of rookies. While Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com believes the wideout could have seen an even bigger payday following a productive postseason, he ultimately believes Jeffrey was smart to take the big-money deal now. With a $13MM average annual salary, Jeffrey will now be tied with T.Y. Hilton for seventh on the list of the league’s highest-paid wideouts.

With Jeffrey now locked up, the team may focus their attention to extending some of his teammates. Last week, we heard that the organization was working on an extension with defensive end Brandon Graham.

WR Notes: Bills, Titans, Gordon, Jeffery

Residing atop the “In the Hunt” section of AFC playoff picture graphics, the Bills will have a tougher time rebounding from their rough road trip to Los Angeles. Kelvin Benjamin isn’t traveling to Kansas City with the team, per the Bills, due to a knee injury. This could be the start of a multi-game absence for the former Panthers wideout, who avoided an ACL tear but did not get off free of lingering knee pain when injured against the Chargers. Benjamin has only played in two of the four Buffalo games since the Bills acquired him at the trade deadline. He has four receptions for 62 yards as a Bill.

Here’s the latest on some wide receiver situations around the league.

  • Speaking of playoff-contending teams, the Titans may be without Rishard Matthews because of a hamstring injury. Matthews did not practice on Friday. Categorizing Matthews as a game-time decision for Sunday’s Colts tilt, Mike Mularkey said the team’s top wide receiver was given a day off for rest. Players who miss Friday workouts generally do not play on Sundays. Tennessee’s leading receiver at 626 yards, Matthews has not missed a game since joining the Titans last year. The Titans activated Harry Douglas from their PUP list on Saturday, adding an additional veteran to the mix.
  • Josh Gordon is at his playing weight of 225 and recently blazed to a 4.35-second 40-yard dash while training at N.U.M.A. Speed this offseason, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Given his condition and Hue Jackson‘s glowing praise, it should be assumed he’s going to play in the Browns‘ Week 13 game against the Chargers. The 26-year-old pass-catcher said learning Jackson’s offense last year helped considerably in this readjustment period. Gordon can still be drug-tested up to 10 times per month.
  • Doug Pederson was quoted as saying the Eagles would love to retain Alshon Jeffery. But the second-year Philadelphia HC stopped short of saying Jeffery was certain to return. “Alshon’s a guy that you’d love to have continue to work with Carson (Wentz) and have around, and I think it’s a good dynamic to have, and have that stability,” Pederson said, via the Chicago Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley. “If things work out and we can retain him, it would be great for the chemistry of the offense, and, obviously, those two guys working together in the future.” As of now, Jeffery and Jarvis Landry look to be the top receivers on the 2018 market.

The 10 Best One-Year NFL Contracts Of 2017

Signing a one-year contract is almost never ideal from a player’s perspective — while a single-season pact can often mean a larger salary, it doesn’t come with the security or guarantees that a multi-year deal offers. From a team’s vantage point, however, there’s essentially no such thing as a poor one-year contract. The player doesn’t work out? No problem: he’s off the books in one season and doesn’t hinder the club’s long-term financials.

Not every player listed below was inked with the presumption that they’d become an integral piece of their respective team’s roster, but they’ve all made good on their one-year pacts. Here are the ten best one-year NFL contracts signed in 2017:

Case Keenum, QB (Vikings)

In Week 9 of the 2016 season, Keenum was appearing in his final game as the Rams’ starting quarterback, and had led the club to a 3-5 record while ranking 29th in both quarterback rating and adjusted net yards per pass attempt. Fast forward to the 2017 campaign, and Keenum is 16th in quarterback rating, 11th in ANY/A, and fronting a Vikings team that leads the NFC North at 6-2 — not bad for a one-year, $2MM deal. It’s unclear how long Keenum will remain Minnesota’s starter under center (Teddy Bridgewater is due back next week), but Keenum, who will be 30 years old when free agency opens next spring, has put himself in line to compete for a starting job in 2018, either with the Vikings or with another club.

Josh McCown, QB (Jets)

Although the Jets were thought to be tanking this season, they’ve posted a 4-5 record (a mark that includes close losses to the Dolphins and Falcons), and McCown has been a key driver of that success. Now 38 years old, McCown is posting his best statistics since 2013, and has completed 70.4% of his passes for 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s been especially productive in the deep passing game, ranking second in touchdowns and third in passer rating on throws of 20 yards or more, per Mike Castiglione of Pro Football Focus. Given his performance and his locker room presence, McCown shouldn’t have any trouble landing another job next offseason.

LeGarrette Blount, RB (Eagles)LeGarrette Blount (Vertical)

While trade acquisition Jay Ajayi figures to take over as the Eagles’ starting running back going forward, Philadelphia has already gotten value out of Blount and his one-year, $1.25MM pact. Blount has handled at least 12 carries in seven of nine games this season while posting a robust 4.6 yards per rush. While he’s scored only two touchdowns thus far, Blount ranks first among all running backs with more than 25 touches with a broken tackle per touch ratio of 39.4%, according to Football Outsiders. The Eagles are the best team in the league right now, meaning they’ll be favored in a majority of their remaining games. Even with Ajayi in tow, positive game scripts should ensure Blount still has a role in Philadelphia’s backfield.

Alshon Jeffery, WR (Eagles)

Following two consecutive down seasons in Chicago, Jeffery took a pillow contract with the Eagles — he’ll collect $9.5MM (and can earn $4.5MM via incentives) before searching for a long-term deal next spring. Jeffery is fresh off his best game of the season, as he posted six receptions for 84 yards and two touchdowns against the Broncos’ vaunted pass defense. While he’s still not creating separation — dead last in the league in yards of separation among qualified wideouts — Jeffery and his contested catch ability are nevertheless a large part of the Eagles’ offense. He’s accounted for 35.03% of his club’s air yards (10th in the NFL), per Next Gen Stats, giving quarterback and MVP candidate Carson Wentz a much-needed weapon on the outside.

Alex Okafor, DE (Saints)

After trying the likes of Bobby Richardson and Paul Kruger of the past two seasons, the Saints have finally found a counterpart to Cameron Jordan at defensive end in the form of Okafor, whom New Orleans lured away from Arizona with a $2MM contract. He’s since played more than three-quarters of the Saints’ defensive snaps, racking up 3.5 sacks in the process. Also excellent against the run, Okafor ranks second among 4-3 defensive ends with a 9.5% run stop percentage, per PFF. All told, Okafor has helped the Saints defense rebound to a No. 16 ranking in DVOA and No. 15 ranking in adjusted sack rate (and those numbers are prior to New Orleans’ five-sack performance against the Buccaneers on Sunday).

Julius Peppers, DE (Panthers)

Peppers is back in Carolina following a seven-year hiatus, and the former No. 1 overall pick is playing like it’s still 2008. He’s 37 years old now, so the Panthers are wisely limiting his snaps — he’s seen action on roughly half the club’s defensive plays through nine weeks. Peppers has racked up 7.5 sacks this season, a figure which ranks eighth among defenders this season and places him fourth all-time with 150.5 career sacks. If Carolina earns a postseason berth — FiveThirtyEight gives them a 52% chance to do so — it will be on the strength of the team’s defense, which currently ranks sixth in DVOA.

Zach Brown, LB (Redskins)

Coming off the best season of his career with the Bills in 2016, Brown was surprisingly forced to settle for a one-year, $2MM deal with the Redskins after initially searching for a $6MM/year contract. And that’s not due to lack of interest, as Oakland, Miami, Indianapolis, and Buffalo all expressed interest in the veteran linebacker before he landed with Washington. Several of those clubs (we’re looking at you, Raiders) would certainly love to have a defender of Brown’s caliber and price available right now. A playmaking machine who embodies a 21st-century linebacker, Brown should be able to land a multi-year pact next offseason, when he’ll still be only 28 years old.

Morris Claiborne, CB (Jets)Morris Claiborne (Vertical)

The Jets’ offseason was primarily dedicated to getting rid of veteran players, but general manager Mike Maccagnan‘s small-scale signings have worked out well, as Claiborne joins McCown as the second Gang Green addition on this list. Claiborne, 27, has always been an effective player when healthy, but injuries have often marred his performance. He’s never played an entire 16-game slate, and he’s managed more than 11 games just once during his five-plus year career. Like Brown, Claiborne can use 2017 as his platform season in order to secure a multi-year deal in 2018 — as long as stays healthy for the rest of this year, that is.

Nickell Robey-Coleman, CB (Rams)

A perfectly-named slot corner, Robey-Coleman was shockingly cut loose by the Bills earlier this year despite ranking as PFF’s No. 33 cornerback in 2016 and being on par to earn just $2.083MM in 2017. The Rams scooped him up on a one-year deal worth the minimum salary, and he’s been outstanding under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, helping Los Angeles to a No. 3 ranking in pass defense DVOA. Thus far, the 25-year-old Robey-Coleman ranks third among 64 qualified cornerbacks in success rate, per Football Outsiders.

Patrick Robinson, CB (Eagles)

While the Eagles certainly have leaned on their excellent young corps on the way to a 8-1 record, general manager Howie Roseman should be lauded for his one-year, cost-effective signings of Robinson, Jeffery, and Blount. Cast off by the Colts one year into a three-year deal, Robinson signed with Philadelphia for the minimum salary and has since become the Eagles’ best cornerback. Pro Football Focus ranks the former first-round pick as the No. 4 corner in the league, and Robinson is allowing only 56.3% of targets in his area to be caught. While Robinson may not be able to parlay his production into a hefty deal in 2018 given that he’ll be 31 years old when next season gets underway, he’s been a superb addition for the Eagles.