The Philadelphia Eagles have placed Alshon Jeffery on the active / physically unable to perform (PUP) list, according to an official announcement from the team.
This news hardly qualifies as a shocking development. There have been doubts about Jeffery’s availability at the start of the season since he suffered an injury at Lisfranc in December 2019. Here’s what we wrote previously about his 2020 outlook:
At the start of the offseason, there was a buzz that the Eagles were going to trade or cut Jeffery. And yet, here it is, still on the list.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean the Eagles are counting on Jeffery to be a big contributor in 2020. As late as May 31, the Inquirer wrote that they “still can’t imagine [Jeffery] play again in the midnight green. “My BGN Radio co-host Jimmy Kempski took the underside of 0.5 shots Jeffery played for the Eagles this coming season.
Even though Jeffery remains on the team, his availability is in question. Jeffery suffered an injury at Lisfranc in mid-December last year. While some have suggested it might be ready for September, others remain skeptical. A doctor I spoke to explained why it was bearish on Jeffery’s 2020 outlook. You also have to consider that Jalen Mills took a full 12 months to recover from a foot injury similar to the one Jeffery suffered. There’s a good chance Jeffery will start the season on the PUP (Physically Unable to Play) roster, which would see him miss at least six games.
And even if Jeffery gets healthy enough to play, how effective can he be? He looked fairly slow last year as he posted a career low of 11.4 yards per receiving mark. What will the 30-year-old look like after a serious injury? And can the Eagles trust him not to anonymously denigrate the team’s starting quarterback for the third consecutive season?
It would be great if Jeffery could become an effective contributor again. The Eagles need an X receiver and he could fill that role. It’s just hard to count on that.
The Eagles placing Jeffery on the PUP roster means he won’t be able to train until the team deems him healthy enough to participate. The Eagles can remove it from the Active List / PUP at any time prior to delisting. However, Jeffery will no longer be eligible for the Reserve / PUP roster (AKA the regular season PUP roster) once he has participated in a single practice.
Reserve / PUP players must miss at least the first six games of the regular season. Players on the active / PUP roster, meanwhile, still count towards the Eagles’ off-season roster limit (currently set at 80 with COVID precautions). Jeffery will NOT count towards the 53 player roster if / when he enters the reserve / PUP roster.
With Jeffery sidelined and Marquise Goodwin retiring from the 2020 season, the Eagles are left with the following nine players for the Eagles training camp practices: DeSean Jackson, Jalen Reagor, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Greg Ward , Quez Watkins, John Hightower, Robert Davis, Deontay Burnett and Manasseh Bailey.
