Eagles Rumors: Latest Buzz on Alshon Jeffery's Injury, Recovery Ahead of Camp

This past April, the Philadelphia Eagles used the 21st pick in the draft on former Texas Christian wideout Jalen Reagor. He may eventually replace Alshon Jeffery as the team's top wideout, and along with a healthy DeSean Jackson, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Greg Ward, Reagor could help provide quarterback Carson Wentz with the best receiving corps he's had in his pro career.

Interestingly, though, Jeffery is the biggest question mark of this group. It's interesting because Jeffery just agreed to a restructured contract in September, and his deal includes more than $26 million in dead money this season.

That's not the type of guaranteed money a team typically gives to a player it views with uncertainty. However, this is exactly where Philadelphia appears to be with Jeffery. Cutting him isn't much of an option given the dead money on his deal, but trade rumors did emerge before the start of the 2020 offseason.

"The Eagles are looking to move Jeffery, league sources confirmed to The Athletic. And Jeffery would welcome the change of scenery," The Athletic's Connor Hughes wrote then.

Part of the issue seems to stem from Jeffery criticizing Wentz, something Hughes pointed out in February:

"With the Eagles offense in a slump, ESPN cited an anonymous source who ripped quarterback Carson Wentz and the group's ability to function. Radio host Howard Eskin outed Jeffery as that source that week. While ESPN's Josina Anderson denied it was Jeffery, several other Eagles reporters confirmed it, too. League sources told The Athletic that Wentz and Jeffery never saw eye-to-eye, and their relationship was testy."

However, Jeffery's relationship with Wentz is not the only issue. He underwent Lisfranc surgery in December, and Hughes noted that he was then looking at a nine-month recovery.

Earlier this week, Jimmy Kempski of the Philadelphia Voice reiterated that Jeffery is not expected to be healthy by the start of training camp, and his absence could extend into the regular season.

"Jeffery is almost certain to start training camp on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list," Kempski wrote. "He can come off of PUP at any time during training camp, but must remain on PUP for at least six weeks if he is still on it at the start of the regular season."

This is potentially a huge problem, as Jeffery is still Philadelphia's most consistent possession receiver when healthy. He caught 43 passes for 490 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games last season. While he and Wentz may not be the best of friends, the two have found some semblance of rhythm on the field.

"Jeffery isn't some monster, and an outwardly adverse relationship doesn't exist between the two players," Kempski explained. "Ultimately, Wentz wants to win, and given the choice between throwing passes to Jeffery or (fill in some back of the roster practice squad receiver), he'd surely prefer Jeffery."

If Jeffery misses the first six weeks of the season, Philadelphia will have to go in a different direction at receiver, and it may not necessarily involve the promising rookie Reagor.

Head coach Doug Peterson hinted in June that Reagor will start out as an understudy to DeSean Jackson and won't be cross-trained for Jeffery's X-receiver role.

"He's going to come in, and he's going to learn one position and he is going to learn from DeSean Jackson, and learn everything he can," Pederson said, per CBS Sports' Jeff Kerr.

Theoretically, this could open the door for second-year man Arcega-Whiteside to earn a bigger role while the Eagles work in Reagor on a rotational basis. That's assuming, of course, that Jeffery does miss the beginning of the season.

As Kempski pointed out, Philadelphia can activate Jeffery off the PUP list at any time during camp. The Eagles may do just that in order to ensure he's available before Week 7, even if he isn't quite ready to retake the field in the first couple of weeks.