Bears Place Franchise Tag On WR Alshon Jeffery

(CBS) As expected, the Bears officially placed the franchise tag on receiver Alshon Jeffery on Monday afternoon, one day ahead of the deadline, meaning he won't be on the open market when free agency starts in a week.

Jeffery and the Bears can still negotiate and reach an agreement on a long-term contract until July 15. If a longer-term deal isn't reached by then, he'll play the 2016 season on a one-year tender worth $14.599 million, the rate for receivers who get the franchise tag.

The 26-year-old Jeffery had 54 catches for 807 yards and four touchdowns in 2015. When healthy, he's proved to be a No. 1 receiver. The trouble is he wasn't consistently healthy in 2015, playing in just nine games as he dealt with soft-tissue injuries to four different muscles.

The Bears and Jeffery's camp continued contract negotiations over the weekend but haven't reached anything yet.