Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery had plenty of things to say Wednesday ahead of Sunday's game in Chicago against his old team, the Bears.
But one comment in particular raised the ire of some Bears fans and made a splash on social media.
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“I love the city of Philadelphia,” Jeffery told reporters. "Chicago is just where I was for work."
Alshon Jeffery with an early nominee for quote of the year.
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 2, 2019
We like the way you think, @TheWorldof_AJ. pic.twitter.com/KFN1rDBcVZ
Jeffery spent the first five seasons of his career with the Bears and made a Pro Bowl before signing as a free agent with the Eagles in 2017. Some Bears fans took that remark as a slap at the city of Chicago as well as the Bears.
But NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reached out to Jeffery, who clarified his comment. According to Rapoport, Jeffery "loves the city of Chicago and meant no disrespect." Jeffery said he was referring to the work environment with the Bears, “but I love Philly with the work environment ... and we won the Super Bowl.”
Texting with Alshon Jeffery about this. He said he loves the city of Chicago & meant no disrespect. He was talking about the rough environment that led to a coach/GM firing. He did love his first 2 years, “but I love Philly with the work environment... and we won the Super Bowl.” https://t.co/OLrJHSlNZd
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 3, 2019
That said, don't expect Jeffery to get a warm welcome Sunday in the wild-card game in Chicago, as he took a shot at the Bears in other ways. Regarding the condition of Soldier Field, he said, “The field is terrible. I definitely remember that. But at the same time, it’s football, man ... when I was there we always used to tell the equipment manager that you gotta change the field, get the field better.
“I’m not disrespecting them. I’m just saying: It’s terrible.”
Jeffery also expressed confidence going up against the Bears' secondary.
“They’re playing football and they’ve gotten a lot of turnovers. They haven’t played the Eagles, though,” he said.
Jeffery had 65 catches, 843 yards and six touchdowns in 13 regular-season games.