Chicago Bears news: Alshon Jeffery will become a free agent

The Chicago Bears reportedly decided not to place the franchise tag on wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. Does this mean he played his last game in Chicago?

As the NFL free agency approaches in ten days, things around the league get interesting. Teams start making their pre-free agency moves to prepare for the start on March 9th. The Chicago Bears are no different, and they have more than a few decisions to make to erase the memory of a 3-13 season in 2016.

One of their decisions is what to do with wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. The Bears need to decide whether to slap the franchise tag on him again. They did it last season, costing them about $14.6 million.

The team has the option of doing so again, but it is costly. If they franchise him again, they need to pay him over $17 million. That is almost $32 million for two seasons, AND he could still walk away.

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It should not be a surprise, then, that Ian Rapoport tweeted that the Chicago Bears decided not to franchise tag Jeffery for a second time. That means one of the most talented receivers hits the open market.

Does this new mean that Jeffery’s playing days in Chicago are over? Not necessarily.

As I mentioned, franchising him again is a costly deal. Also, it does not mean anything beyond 2017. If the Bears want to keep Jeffery, they need to work out a multi-year contract. It works out for both parties — Jeffery gets peace of mind, knowing he is at least somewhat secure in his situation the next few seasons, while the Bears get to lock down a top talent.

According to Spotrac, Jeffery’s market value is at about $12.2 million (5 years, $61 million). The Bears have a ton of cap space, so they can sign him to that and still have the flexibility to fill other holes. In addition, general manager Ryan Pace has shown a creative ability to work with the cap space, and he may do so again with this contract.

Of course, some team may swoop in and blow everything out of the water by offering him a ridiculous contract. Things like that happen in free agency. If that does happen, the Bears just need to walk away and wish Jeffery well. Barring that, I believe the Bears and Jeffery can work something out.

Additionally, Jeffery could be intrigued with whoever the new quarterback is for Chicago. He didn’t have much rapport with Jay Cutler, and it seems as if Cutler’s days in Chicago are done. Perhaps a new quarterback is an incentive for Jeffery to return.

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Whatever happens with Jeffery, the Chicago Bears’ decision sent ripples through NFL front offices. Things just got more interesting. Now let’s see if interesting becomes good.