Bears Place Franchise Tag on Alshon Jeffery

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Ryan Pace said the Bears were “aggressively” negotiating with Jeffery, and despite a Friday report that the team had chose to use the tag, the two sides were still talking. The franchise designation also means that the Bears have until July 15 to agree to a long-term deal with the wide receiver.

The Chicago Bears announced Monday they will place the franchise tag on star receiver Alshon Jeffery, a move that had been anticipated since last week. If a longer-term deal isn’t reached by then, he’ll play the 2016 season on a one-year tender worth $14.599 million, the rate for receivers who get the franchise tag. But the Bears would have the chance to match any contract offer.

The Bears have not used the franchise tag since 2013, when it was applied to Henry Melton. And if another team ultimately signed Jeffery, that organization would also have to send the Bears two first-round draft picks as compensation.

Jeffery is coming off a season in which he missed seven games, but there’s no denying the 26-year-old’s impact on Chicago’s offense when healthy. He’d have no long-term security for any time beyond each individual season and would be at great risk if he were to suffer a career-changing injury during that time, but that is a whole lot of guaranteed cash, which could affect how negotiations proceed from here on out. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported last Friday that Jeffery would be getting the tag, but in an ideal world the Bears would lock up Jeffery without having to commit a top-five cap number to a player for just one season.