The Bears changed course from last year and passed on placing a franchise tag on wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, leaving the wideout on track to become an unrestricted free agent on March 9.
Jeffery could still return to the team he predicted will win the Super Bowl next year, but he’ll also get a chance to talk to and field offers from other teams when the “legal tampering” window opens on March 7. When he does, Jeffery told Josina Anderson of ESPN that he will be looking for teams close to scaling that championship mountain.
“I don’t have any hard feeling towards the Bears; it’s all love,” Jeffery said. “Whatever the next chapter is, I’m ready for it. I’m looking at the teams that obviously need a wide receiver, but also put me in the best situation to win a championship right now.”
The Eagles and Titans are often mentioned as possible landing spots for wide receivers in free agency and both would seem to be closer to reaching Jeffery’s goal than the Bears, who may be ahead of teams like the 49ers and Browns (who may re-sign Terrelle Pryor) that have plenty of money to spend after paring their rosters down to the bone. Whether those teams covet Jeffery and are able to hit the price he wants remains to be seen and we won’t have to wait too much longer to learn the answer.