Alshon Jeffery was in the midst of a difficult contract year already on a 2-7 Chicago Bears team, but his year on the franchise tag went from mediocre to a nightmare on Monday afternoon. News of a four-game PED suspension from the league hit the wire that now has the talented Bears wideout on the sidelines for four of the final seven games of the season in a year where Jeffery needed to impress general managers around the league to maximize his contract value.
With just one touchdown in nine games, Jeffery’s chances to pad his stats in the midst of Chicago’s lost season is now virtually gone. The situation now complicates a situation in which Jeffery was under the franchise tag and will forfeit not only four game checks worth $3.6 million, but also millions on the free agent market as well this March. An unfortunate situation for a player who never made over $1 million during his four years of stellar play for the Bears on his standard rookie deal as a second round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
NFL announces 4-game PED suspension for Bears WR Alshon Jeffrey. Will cost him $3.6 million now, potentially more on UFA market in March.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 14, 2016
Jeffery’s biggest issue is that his stats have not been up to the level that we have come to expect from the talent receiver based on his first four years in the league with the Bears. After posting 807 yards and four touchdowns in nine games in 2015 before the Bears hit him with the franchise tag, Jeffrey has just 630 catching yards in that same timeframe this season. Zach Miller has also replaced Jeffery as the Bears preferred red zone target, which has led to a career low in touchdowns for Jeffrey with just one single end zone grab this season.
Jeffery ranks outside of the Top 20 in all major statistical categories for wideouts, a big problem for his free agency despite the fact that he has an extremely impressive body of work through the rest of his career. Now, the likes of Terrelle Pryor, Kenny Britt and the rest of the 2017 free agency class at wideout have the chance to push to the front of the market and take potential dollars away from Jeffrey while he is on the sidelines for the next month.
A further detriment to Jeffery will be the cloud of a PED suspension that will allow general managers to leverage value at the negotiating table come March. After playing in just nine games in 2015 before this new incident of a suspension, teams will be able to ask tough questions about how reliable Jeffery is due to his missed time. A factor that could be very real for Jeffery, who will need to be in damage control once his four-game ban comes to an end.
How Jeffery bounces back on the field and off of the field will be vital to his free agency value. It is evident Jeffery will need at least one, if not two, strong performances to finish the season strong once he returns to the Bears depth chart for the final stretch. However, Jeffery and his agent will need to sell NFL teams on his reliability and his ability to reach his former highs in the right system when he makes his visits to various franchises in the spring.
With a rather weak market for wideouts in free agency this year, Jefferey might still command a high salary if a team is desperate enough to acquire a number one option. However, there is a chance he faces a situation similar to Michael Crabtree after his weak contract year with the San Francisco 49ers where a short-term contract is needed to earn a higher contract down the road.
Jeffery’s free agency is now incredibly interesting due to the Bears struggles and the suspension angle now in play once the sometimes dominant receiver hits the open market. Now out four game checks on his franchise tag, Jeffery has a ton of work to do if he wants to earn the massive contract that many felt was a guarantee a few short seasons ago when he was one of the most dangerous weapons in football. If Jeffery doesn’t handle these next few months perfectly, it could just cost him millions.
