Going into the summer, one lingering fear continued to fester with Chicago Bears fans. What was Allen Robinson going to do? It’s no secret he remains in the middle of a contract dispute with the team. Though he’d signed the franchise tag tender, he wasn’t present for Organized Team Activities. This led many to wonder if the 27-year old was planning a holdout. Mandatory minicamp occurring this week figured to tell the story.
Thankfully nobody has to worry. According to Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times and others, Robinson is at Halas Hall and will be present for practices moving forward. This is a welcome sight for the Bears and a great boost for locker room morale. The receiver once again is showing his team-first mentality by not making things about him. Does he want to get paid? Yes. Does he deserve to? Absolutely. Still, staging a holdout isn’t likely to do him any favors.
Better to just continue doing his job.
Bears WR Allen Robinson plans to be at minicamp tomorrow, per source—https://t.co/6sPMGaNj1J
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) June 14, 2021
This is often the best approach for a player to take. By not causing a stir and hopefully continuing to perform at a high level, somebody is going to pay Robinson a lot of money soon enough. If it’s not the Bears, then it will be another team when he becomes a free agent in 2022. As of right now, Chicago still has enough time to make something happen. The deadline for negotiations on a contract extension is July 15th. That is one month away.
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It isn’t clear what GM Ryan Pace plans to do. His wide receiver position isn’t exactly rich in certainties right now. Darnell Mooney has a lot of promise but also a lot still to prove. Anthony Miller was almost traded this offseason. Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd are one-year fliers. Dazz Newsome just broke his collarbone. Robinson is far and away the best player in that group and he could be gone next spring if they’re not careful.
https://twitter.com/AllenRobinson/status/1404470816528646148
Bears can’t afford to let Allen Robinson walk without a plan
Remember this team just got done drafting Justin Fields back in April. He is their quarterback of the future. It is their responsibility to surround him with as many weapons as possible. It wouldn’t be a great look for the organization if they let their best receiver walk before 11th overall pick ever really has a chance to play with him. Then again the organization hasn’t been great at surrounding their QBs with stud pass catchers most of the time.
Jay Cutler didn’t have Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery until his fourth season with the team. The best Rex Grossman ever had was Muhsin Muhammad and Bernard Berrian. Allen Robinson was the premier find for Mitch Trubisky in 2018 but the team still hasn’t found a viable #2 guy to pair with him. They’re no doubt hoping Mooney is ready to fill that void. It won’t matter though if Robinson leaves.
Pace is under a ton of pressure.
He now has a clearer picture of the cap space situation. He should know the type of long-term deal it will take for Robinson to stay. What nobody knows for sure is the per year number the receiver wants. Speculation has put it somewhere in the $18-20 million range. Are the Bears prepared to pay him that much? Nobody knows. The next month should be interesting to say the least.