It doesn’t get any more interesting for Philadelphia Eagles fans than Mr. Jeffery.
Even though it may feel like, emotionally, he’s been here for four ten seasons sometimes, at the time of this story being published, it will be July 17th. That means Alshon Jeffery would have only been with the Philadelphia Eagles for three years, four months, and eight days. Again, it doesn’t feel like it does it?
Here we are, entering the third NFL season where Mr. Jeffery will wear the number 17 for Philly, and we’ve already amassed a lifetime of stories about his tenure that we can tell our children and grandchildren. Some paint a picture of him like he’s this conquering hero. Others would have you believe we’re in Salem, he’s a witch, and the fans can’t wait to burn him at the stake.
Both sides of that discussion are arguable, but at the end of the day, here’s the situation. Jeffery, when he’s ready to play, will be on the field for Philadelphia. There’s been no sign that Philly will trade him. There are even fewer signs that state Philly can trade him, especially now with us being in a global health crisis. To make long stories short, this is one of those deals vice president and general manager Howie Roseman screwed up, and now, well, Philly is stuck with this guy for, at least, this season.
This needs to work. Heck, this has to work, but it’s hard to get into any bold predictions at this point. Right now, the simpler questions like whether or not he can play and what he will look like if he does are the talking points. Sheesh. This could be a long season talking about this guy.
Here’s what Philadelphia Eagles fans can expect from Alshon Jeffery in 2020.
Unless you’re a casual Eagles fan, much of the plan is obvious. Jeffery’s body, one that may literally be held together by nuts and bolts at this point, will need time to heal. That means he’ll begin the season on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. That will buy Philly time, meaning one of the young guys that we aren’t thinking about, may have their shot to make the 53-man roster.
Now, could that be John Hightower or Quez Watkins? We’ll have to wait and see.
The favorites, outside of Jeffery, to make the roster at the wide receiver position are Jalen Reagor, DeSean Jackson, JJ Arcega-Whiteside. Marquise Goodwin, and Greg Ward. Once Jeffery is back, he’s in the mix as well, but Philly may need to find someone to fill in until he can go. What’s sad is none of us have any timetable for when that is.
Using last year to help our sliding scale doesn’t instill a ton of confidence. If you’ll remember, Jordan Howard had a “stinger”, was “day-to-day”, and sat out for six weeks. Philly’s revamped their medical team (again), but when Jeffery will be listed as “active” on the gameday roster is impossible to determine.
Once he’s back, he’ll be plugged right back into the lineup, but until then, one has to think that anything beyond 50 catches, 500 receiving yards, and five touchdowns has to be viewed as some sort of miracle. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s an accurate theory.