Alshon Jeffery was not the first round draft choice that Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas were in 2010, so Bears general manager Ryan Pace doesn't have the fifth-year option the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos employed with their wideouts. That means the 2012 second rounder's upcoming fourth season is the final year on his rookie deal, with unrestricted free agency, or a franchise tag, looming next spring.
Bryant and Thomas signed matching five-year, $70 million contracts Wednesday minutes before the deadline expired for the franchise tag to automatically kick in, if they decided to play for it. The only reported differences were Bryant receiving $45 million in guaranteed money, vs.