The Chicago Bears have finally made a decision on their star wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. It appears that Jeffery will be given the franchise tag this season as the Bears could not close a long-term deal.
This does put an end to the debate on where Jeffery will take his talents if he hits free agency, as at least for this season he will not be leaving Chicago. Currently the franchise tag for wide receivers is $14.599 million, so for now it seems like the more team friendly-deal than giving Jeffery a monster contract. Jeffery is easily the Bears' best offensive threat and can single-handedly keep the team in games when he is called upon. He also forces NFL defenses to double if not triple cover him, allowing his teammates to get open.
Jeffery has been somewhat injury-prone in his time with the Bears. Jeffery has played in the majority of games from 2013 to 2014, however in his first and last year on his contract he was hit with a serious or lingering injury making it impossible for him to be productive. Jeffery in his time with the Bears has recorded 3,728 receiving yards, 252 receptions and 24 touchdowns and is averaging 14.8 yards per catch.
The Bears can now focus on some of their other free agents such as Jermon Bushrod or Ryan Mundy. One player that is most likely to not return is Matt Forte. Forte is 30 and has been made somewhat obsolete by his young backups Jeremy Langford (24) and Ka'Deem Carey (23). The Bears would have liked to have Jay Cutler's safety blanket in Jeffery in addition to Forte, but it is clear that the Bears are not willing to pay anymore for Forte's production even though he caught 44 receptions for 389 yards averaging 8.8 yards per reception. When you compare Forte's role in the passing game to Jeffery's last season, it becomes pretty clear that he was the number two option in this passing game. The Bears will now look to build their receiving core through the draft as they try to find a complement to Jeffery.
