Aside from being one of those names I have to look up every single time I write about him to determine if it's spelled Jeffery or Jeffrey, Alshon Jeffery is an interesting player. He's been franchise-tagged by Chicago, and it looks like he's going to end up playing the year on it.
There's not much optimism that a deal will get done before the July 15 deadline for tagged players. That's probably because Jeffery wants to get paid like an elite No. 1 wideout, understandable after he averaged 87 catches for 1,277 yards and 9 TDs in the 2013-2014 season. The Bears, according to the link, are hesitant based on him missing almost half the season a year ago.
Chicago certainly has a recent history of parting ways with capable players. They gave away Brandon Marshall, and cut Matt Forte. They drafted Kevin White at No. 7 overall a year ago.
But White was hurt all season and remains an unknown. And Jeffery put up 54 catches and 807 yards in just over half a season last year; would have been monster production if he'd been able to stay healthy.
Jeffery turned 26 a few months ago. If he actually makes it to free agency a year from now, he'd have plenty of suitors.
For now, figure he'll probably be playing out the year on the franchise tag, motivated to put up huge numbers and enjoy a big payday next March. From Chicago, or somebody else.
--Andy Richardson