Alshon Jeffery To Sign With Eagles

By Chris Emma--

(CBS) The Bears have lost their top receiver.

Alshon Jeffery has agreed to sign with the Eagles, the team confirmed Thursday shortly after the new league year opened at 3 p.m. The deal is for one year and $14 million, according to reports, a sign that Jeffery wants to impress and then ink a big-money deal a year from now.

The 27-year-old Jeffery hit the open market for the first time in his five-year NFL career after the Bears declined to tender the franchise tag for a second straight offseason. That would've paid Jeffery more than $17 million.

Jeffery had 52 catches for 821 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games in 2016, when he missed four games because of a performance-enhancing drug suspension.

Last week, Bears general manager Ryan Pace spoke of the team's decision to let Jeffery hit the open market.

"Sometimes when you can't come to a common ground with a player and an agent, sometimes it's necessary to kind of test the market to determine that player's value," Pace said at the NFL Combine. "That's really where we're at. He's a good player, and we'll see how it plays out. But I think there are certain instances where testing the market is a necessary part of the process."

Pace and Jeffery's party, led by Tory Dandy of CAA Sports, maintained a constant dialogue that continued throughout this week.