“Nothing Happening” Between Eagles & Bears Regarding Alshon Jeffery Trade

Update:

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, there’s “nothing happening” between the Bears and Eagles regarding a possible trade of WR Alshon Jeffery.

Rapoport adds that trading a franchise player would be “essentially unprecedented” given that the new team cannot sign him to an extension until next year. star prior to the start of free agency.

Beyond that, Rapoport says that Chicago would likely want a mid-round pick for Jeffery but get a mid-round pick if they allowed him to depart in free agency.

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According to Benjamin Albright, the Eagles are “trying” to trade for Bears WR Alshon Jeffery but would need to work out a long-term deal with him to complete a trade.

• Albright says that it would likely take a mid-round pick for the Eagles to land Jeffery in a trade with Chicago.

It should be noted that a team can’t sign a franchise player to a contract during the season, which means the earliest Jeffery could sign a new contract is next year.

• Last night, Jason La Canfora mentioned that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Eagles end up trading for an outside receiver in the coming days with 49ers WR Torrey Smith being a “prime target.”
• However, La Canfora added that it’s possible the Eagles could reach out to the Bears about a potential trade involving franchise Jeffery.
• Eagles executive Howie Roseman has shown a willingness to pursue trades and La Canfora believes they could really use an outside receiver for rookie QB Carson Wentz to target.
• Mike Florio previously floated the idea of the Bears possibly making Jeffery available for trade. Although, he admitted it could be tough to find a team willing to part with decent draft compensation to essentially rent Jeffery for the remainder of the season.

Smith seems like the most likely of the two to be traded ahead of this year’s deadline, considering Jeffery’s contract situation.

It’s possible Jeffery could ultimately secure an annual salary of $14 million, which could be too much for the Eagles to commit to.

Jeffery, 26, was taken in the second-round of the 2012 NFL draft by the Bears. He played out the final year of his four-year, $4.54 million rookie contract that included a $1.74 million signing bonus before receiving the team’s franchise tag.

The franchise tag will run the Bears $14.599 million guaranteed for the 2016 season.

In 2016, Jeffery has appeared in seven games and caught 32  passes for 520 yards receiving and no touchdowns for the Bears. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 26 receiver out of 108 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding a potential trade involving the Eagles as the news is available.