Flashback Friday: Alshon Jeffery gambles on himself with the Eagles
On this day in 2017, Alshon Jeffery took a major gamble on himself with the Philadelphia Eagles.
As the NFL free agency period approaches, the Philadelphia Eagles will most-likely sit back quietly. Considering their insufficient cap space for the 2018 season, they won’t make their annual splash in the open market. Now that their offseason moves have finally paid off, we can sit back and appreciate the outstanding job that Howie Roseman and company have done these past two seasons.
A year ago from today, the Eagles made one of their most important signings for their Super Bowl run. They inked a one-year deal with former Chicago Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. At first, the deal seemed odd. Unlike many other free agents, Jeffery signed on for one season, rather than something long-term.
Usually, a receiver of Jeffery’s caliber finds himself a big multi-year deal in free agency. But the former Bear was not ready to sell himself short to just any team. In fact, he turned down a multi-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles for a trial season.
A trip down memory lane…
Alshon Jeffery turned down a multi-year deal with more security from Vikings, but he is betting himself long term with the Eagles and Wentz
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2017
When Jeffery signed with the Eagles, he made it very clear that he had one goal in mind. Win a Super Bowl. He was so confident that he would win the Super Bowl no matter what in 2017, and he ended up doing just that. Not only did he guarantee a Super Bowl win, though. But he told Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz that he was going to help him win MVP.
Wentz evidently fell short due to a torn ACL. But before he went out in Week 14, he was sitting pretty with the best odds in the league to win the prestigious award. So looking back at it all, the situation became a win-win for the Eagles. They ended up signing Alshon Jeffery to a long-term deal and snagging their first-ever Super Bowl victory.
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To make things seem even sweeter, the Eagles defeated the Vikings on their road to Super Bowl LII. The same team that almost took Alshon away from the Eagles organization. Talk about irony, huh? All in all, Alshon and the Eagles became a match made in heaven just a year ago. Now the veteran wide receiver is healing up his torn rotator cuff and getting ready to make a run at a repeat.