In his final couple seasons with the Chicago Bears, wide receiver Alshon Jeffery – directly or indirectly – ushered himself out of the team’s plans. He missed several games with injury and an additional few games serving a PED suspension. In his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles, it would have seemed that Jeffery put the injury questions to bed as he played every regular season and playoff game for the Eagles. Except … not so much. He was just good a hiding it. Alshon Jeffrey recently revealed he played the entire season with a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder and has since gotten it operated on.
#Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery had successful surgery this morning on a torn rotator cuff, sources say. He suffered it in training camp and played through it, somehow, on the way to a Super Bowl.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 21, 2018
Though he didn’t exactly have a career year, his ability to stay on the field and provide a certain level of consistency in Philadelphia offered everything Philly could’ve asked for. Jeffery finished with 57 catches on 120 targets for 789 yards. Perhaps most importantly, he added nine touchdowns and gave the run-heavy Eagles a downfield threat to stretch defenses. That was especially important after Carson Wentz went down but the offense continued to roll once Nick Foles found his rhythm.
Entering the season, Alshon Jeffery was forced to take a prove-it contract when he signed for one-year at $9 million to leave the Windy City for Philadelphia. The Eagles weren’t about to let him hit the market so soon after proving what he can offer, though. In early December, Philadelphia gave their wide receiver a four-year, $27 million extension.
The Eagles ultimately (obviously) won the Super Bowl, so for them, the deal ensures they’ll return a good majority of their offense next season.
As far as the surgery goes, Jeffery is expected to need most, if not all, of the offseason to recover and rehab. At this time, he’s expected to be at full health for the team’s 2018 season opener. But as long as he gets healthy and the team is in position to make another Super Bowl run, they may choose to play it safe with his recovery.
