It doesn’t appear the Chicago Bears will let Alshon Jeffery go

Alshon Jeffery, it appears, will stay with the Chicago Bears. Logically, there was no other way this could have played out.

Despite some rumblings that the Bears might not use the franchise tag on Jeffery and he could hit free agency as a result, it appears that’s where this is headed unless the Bears sign him to a long-term extension first. And they’re working on it.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace said the team is “actively and aggressively negotiating right now” on a long-term deal with their No. 1 receiver. He also said the franchise tag is “an option,” according to the team’s Twitter feed.

Franchising Jeffery isn’t ideal, because it would eat up a lot of cap room. The estimated frachise tag number for a receiver is $14.4 million. But do the Bears have much choice? They’ve told running back Matt Forte he won’t be resigned. It seems tight end Martellus Bennett will be released. At receiver, 2015 first-round pick Kevin White is talented but has never played in an NFL game because injuries cost him all of his rookie season. The Bears have very little else at receiver. Chicago doesn’t have enough offensive talent to let go of Jeffery, who has two 1,000-yard seasons in his four NFL years.

Once the Bears sign Jeffery or tag him, that cripples a really bad free agent class at receiver. Marvin Jones, Travis Benjamin and Rueben Randle are probably the top three options, and none are close to a true No. 1. But they’re probably going to be overpaid because there are no better options in free agency this year.

It would be a huge surprise if the Bears, who have more than $60 million in cap room, let Jeffery hit free agency. It’s not like they can easily replace him.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab