NFL

NFL News and Notes: Eagles Plan To Release WR Alshon Jeffery

When the new league year begins on March 17, Alshon Jeffery will have to find a new home. The Eagles plan on releasing him to free up cap space and get younger.

This is no surprise, as Jeffery has long been rumored to be on the trading block. He couldn't stay healthy long enough for the Eagles to present him as a positive asset to other teams over the past two seasons.

Jeffery left the Bears after the 2016 season and signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia for $9.5M. Just one year later, he signed a 4-year deal with the Eagles for $52M and went on to win the Super Bowl with the team just a few months later.

Since then, though, injuries have been a problem. He has certainly not been worth that kind of money over the past two seasons as he's only played in 17 games total.

At 31 years old, he will likely catch on with another team in free agency, but it will likely be on a one-year "prove it" deal for him to demonstrate an ability to stay healthy.

Bucs Optimistic Brady Will Sign Extension

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager, Jason Licht, believes quarterback Tom Brady will sign an extension beyond the 2021 season.

Brady signed the 2-year deal just last offseason in his first-ever venture into free agency. He inked a 2 year deal with Tampa Bay with the intent of playing beyond his age 43 season.

Brady has expressed a desire to play past his age 45 season and to stay in Tampa Bay that would require a new deal. Bucs Head Coach Bruce Arians also sees Brady as a long-term fit with the organization despite his age.

Tampa Bay has some other players they will need to sign as key players like wide receiver Chris Godwin, linebacker Lavonte David, and edge rusher Shaq Barrett are all free agents this offseason.

Brady has a $28.4M cap hit for 2021, which is the highest on the team. So, the motivation is there for the Bucs to restructure and extend Brady beyond 2021 to bring that cap hit down and free up money for the Bucs to retain their other key free agents.

It will be interesting to see if the Buccaneers can retain their core in order to make another run at the Super Bowl next season.

Steelers Flip, Now Want Big Ben Back

Just a few days after hinting at a possible breakup between the Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, now General Manager Kevin Colbert has flipped and is expressing a desire for Big Ben to return for another season under center for the Steelers.

Roethlisberger has the largest cap hit in the league for 2021 at $41.25M. That has to be addressed for the Steelers to be competitive and stay under the cap this upcoming season.

A contract restructuring is in order, and Roethlisberger's agent is open to doing just that to keep the long-time Steeler quarterback in Pittsburgh for at least one more season.

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