The issue with Allen Robinson isn’t over. It is merely postponed. By placing the franchise tag on their star wide receiver, the Chicago Bears have bought themselves time. The goal remains to sign the 27-year old to a long-term deal. Rest assured that has never changed. It comes down to finding the right dollar amount that Robinson would be happy with.
Well, that and something else. A source informed SM that Robinson is in no rush to either sign the franchise tag tender or negotiate an extension right now. A big reason being the continued lack of clarity at the quarterback position. Remember this man has played with Blake Bortles and Mitch Trubisky for the majority of his career. Locking himself into more years in Chicago with another average QB certainly wouldn’t be appealing.
So Robinson is going to wait.
He can afford to. The deadline for Chicago to secure him to a long-term deal is July 15th. That is well beyond free agency and the draft. The Bears will have their answer at quarterback by then, for better or worse. It is probably reasonable to say their chances of getting more cooperation from Robinson will rise if they land the right guy.
Rumors have persisted for two weeks that they are in pursuit of Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson. In regards to Watson? The Houston Texans appear fully dug in. They are unwilling to even listen to phone calls at this point. Wilson though? That is a different story. Things aren’t good between him and the Seattle Seahawks. Enough to where there appears to be a growing momentum that he could be dealt, and the Bears might be in a prime position to land him.
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If so, it’s a pretty safe bet Robinson would be more open to a long-term deal.
Allen Robinson holdout is on the horizon otherwise
He has made his distaste for the franchise tag clear for months. It’s an unfair advantage for teams meant to take advantage of players. Robinson believes he has done enough to earn a fair market value deal. Back-to-back seasons over 1,000 yards despite erratic quarterback play. Zero controversies off the field. A leader in the locker room. What else does he have to do?
One thing that must be remembered is it isn’t like the Bears are intentionally being cheap here. They have a history of willingly paying fair money to their own players. It’s been a goal of GM Ryan Pace since he took over. The problem is unforeseen circumstances. Namely the drop of the 2021 salary cap. Something that has put them in a tough financial position. The quarterback conundrum just makes it harder.
If they have to settle for a lesser option?
Don’t expect Allen Robinson to be near as cooperative. Though he may sign the tender eventually, it will come after a lengthy holdout. Then he’ll play 2021 on the tag and the Bears will be back in this same exact position again next offseason. So yeah. As if there wasn’t already enough pressure on Pace to get this QB thing fixed.
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