Bears’ offensive coordinator: ‘We all wish Alshon was here’

Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery continues to train in Florida, but his new boss would prefer he be at Halas Hall.

“The effect is that someone else is getting an opportunity to get some reps, and that’s a good thing,” first-year offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said Friday at the start of Bears rookie minicamp. “We all wish Alshon was here.

“We’re in constant communication with him. He knows how we feel about the situation and him. But it is an opportunity for some of these different receivers that we like to get opportunities, and we’ll find out more about them.”

He said the Bears will be “excited to get him back when he shows up.”

The receiver has not attended the Bears’ voluntary workouts, and will be fined if he skips mandatory practices next month.

Receivers coach Curtis Johnson flew to California to meet with Jeffery in person earlier this offseason and has talked to him about once a week since.

“This thing is voluntary, not mandatory,” he said. “And he said he guaranteed that he was gonna be here when it comes around.”

Jeffery has signed his one-year, $14.599 million franchise tender, but both sides hope to negotiate a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline.

Loggains is excited to pair him with receiver Kevin White, who’s recovered from the shin injury that cost him his rookie year.

“I can’t wait to get them both on the field at the same time,” he said. “Something we’ve never seen in Chicago.”