Accusing an NFL franchise of something as petty as a thinly-veiled jab at one of their former employees sounds a bit childish. At the same time these are human beings running said franchise. They have egos just like the players they try to make a success. It’s not a stretch at all to think the Chicago Bears, professional organization though they are, would somehow be above something like that.
Of course they’ll never admit to anything like that. It’s beyond easy to deny. Merely pass it off as coincidence. Yet one doesn’t have to go far to connect the dots. Understand that GM Ryan Pace did his homework on veteran receiver Dontrelle Inman. He is not the sort of executive who goes off a gut feeling. He wants all the information on a player before he takes a calculated risk on them.
That makes what happened next beyond fascinating in a multitude of ways.
Chicago Bears assign Inman jersey #17 after trade completion
Of course any self-respecting fan knows that jersey numbers shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Then again this is the Bears. No franchise has retired more numbers than them, so it’s kind of a big deal for this organization. That’s why it was interesting when news came down of what number Inman was getting.
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New Bears WR Dontelle Inman will wear jersey No. 17.
— Jeff Dickerson (@DickersonESPN) October 26, 2017
Most Bears fans know that number belonged to former Pro Bowl receiver Alshon Jeffery, who left in the offseason to join the Philadelphia Eagles. While Jeffery wasn’t exactly a superstar it does seem curious the team would go out of their way to give Inman that number. Why? Here are a couple of reasons.
They had several other receiver numbers available that would’ve caused less of a stir. Deonte Thompson’s #14 was recently made available. The same goes for #80-84. Yet the Bears went right for #17. Where it gets weirder is the fact that Inman is a native of South Carolina. He was born in Charleston. That’s a 90-minute drive from St. Matthews where Jeffery was born.
It’s not like Inman had anything to do with the choice either. He wore #81 in college (which was available remember). In Canada he wore #11 (currently reserved by Kevin White) and #15 with the Chargers (worn by Josh Bellamy). So it’s fair to say this choice of number was more the team than the player.
Bears brass no doubt did not enjoy their Alshon experience
Was this a subtle jab from the higher-ups towards a receiver who gave them a lot of grief over the past couple years? Remember Jeffery wasn’t always the most cooperative player on or off the field. He was ravaged by soft tissue injuries in 2015. Last season he missed team minicamps during the summer and then was suspended four games for PED violations.
On top of all that he repeatedly rebuffed attempts made by the team to sign him long-term. This led to beliefs that the Bears were trying to shortchange him or that his demands were simply too high. Then he up and signs with Philadelphia for a one-year, $9.5 million deal. It was clear at that point he never had any intention to re-sign and didn’t see the Bears as worth his time anymore.
In hindsight he kind of left them out to dry. So one understands why the team may be a bit salty about that.
