Chicago Bears: Pay or Push Alshon Jeffery?

With five days remaining before the NFL deadline, arguments rage about whether the Chicago Bears should pay up the money to keep Alshon Jeffery long-term.

There is a camp that believes he’s way too good of a receiver to even risk letting get away in 2017 free agency, which is what can happen after the franchise tag expires this season. Then there are those who aren’t on board with the idea that the Bears pay $14 million per year to a wide receiver, let alone one with as many red flags as Jeffery has surrounding him.

So far the standing situation is that the two sides are talking but so far no new deal is close. Jeffery wants the money to stick close to what he’s making for this year while the Bears seem interested in paying him closer to what Doug Baldwin and Keenan Allen will be making at $10-12 million per season. That impasse has yet to be overcome and some think it won’t. At least not this year. A prevailing thought is the Bears are content to let Jeffery play out the 2016 season and prove to them he deserves top money. Otherwise they aren’t going to risk overpaying for somebody who is far too unreliable.

Cameron DaSilva of Fox Sports seems to share this line of thinking.

"“The benefit for Chicago is that it gives the front office another year to gauge Jeffery’s worthiness of a long-term deal. It’s clear at this point that the Bears have their doubts.And they’re not wrong for that.He has the potential to be a Dez Bryant-like player who you can just throw it up to and rest assured he’s going to come down with the ball. Those types of players don’t come around often, but Jeffery has his share of baggage, too.In four years, he’s missed 13 games, including seven this past season. In the nine games he did play, he had 807 yards and four touchdowns, both of which are very respectable. The numbers don’t alleviate injury concerns that the Bears have, though. Particularly because they’re not exactly severe injuries along the lines of a torn ACL.Rather, he dealt with lingering ailments such as a calf strain, an injured hamstring and a groin issue. That’s not to criticize Jeffery’s toughness, but suffering from so many issues can be concerning for a team preparing to cut him a $60 million check.”"

Besides, it’s not like the Chicago Bears brass don’t have options for next year. If need be they will be able to use the franchise tag for a second time in order to finally get a long-term deal done. Assuming that is their end game when the time comes. GM Ryan Pace has not been shy about handing down one-year “prove it” deals before. While this one may be a bit more expensive than others, the same idea applies. If Alshon Jeffery wants his money, then he’ll have to earn it.