3 Philadelphia Eagles that may have overstayed their welcome
player. 54. . . . Alshon Jeffery. 17
Is there still a place for Alshon Jeffery with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020?
It seems like it was only yesterday when the Eagles acquired Alshon Jeffery to bolster a struggling Eagles group of receivers that featured the likes of a disappointing Nelson Agholor back in 2017. Jeffery hadn’t had a 1,000-yard receiving season in 2014, but Philly’s brass didn’t hesitate in giving him a one-year $14 million deal that would eventually lead to a four-year extension worth $52 million that was supposed to keep him in the nest until 2021.
Alshon Jeffery hasn’t recorded a 1,000-yard receiving season since he’s been in Philadelphia. He was paramount in the team’s magical Super Bowl run in 2017. Since then, he’s contributing less often, and recently, he’s been seen as, for lack of a better term, dead weight. He’s no longer a number-one option as he’s been unable to show that he can stay healthy.
Jeffery has missed seven games over the course of the last two seasons, and it’s becoming more difficult to justify his $15.4 million cap number in 2020. Currently, he’s on the team’s PUP (physically unable to perform) list, and it’s uncertain when he’ll be ready to join the active roster.
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Then, there’s this. Even if Jeffery joins the Eagles’, active roster, are we certain that there will be a place for him in the starting lineup? With the addition of rookie Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, and Quez Watkins and with Greg Ward possibly having a bigger role on the offense, the coaching staff may determine that Jeffery’s addition disrupts team chemistry.
As disappointed as fans and coaches might be right now, nobody can claim to be more frustrated than Jeffery is. Sure, he’s getting millions of dollars without even playing, but football players are competitors by nature. The fact he can’t play is surely getting to him. Jeffery’s pirouette in the end zone during Super Bowl 52 will never be forgotten, but alas, it already seems like a distant memory. This, in all likelihood, might be his final run in Philly.