The bolded is one of the best points made on this forum this season. Consider the Bears roster. Most of these guys are UDFAs or vet Fa scrap heap types. No one is going to give a fuck about how they perform after their team has been eliminated. What will impact their future in the NFL is if they are injured or not. If I am Marc Marinara or basically anyone on defense not named Pernell McPhee then I am playing not to get injured. Teams may pick me up as a stop gap based on the previous weeks' games, but they will not waste their time or money with me if I am injured even if I make a good play or two in the last two meaingless weeks.
I fully believe this is also impacting Alshon Jeffery. The number of millions of dollars he is paid next year will not be significantly impacted by a few yards more or less, or a few catches, or a few TDs. But if he gets a major injury then his kids are going to the community college instead of Harvard.