People haven’t spoken about it much lately if only because a lot has happened with the Chicago Bears in the past week. They played a playoff game down in New Orleans, lost, and then made the unpopular decision to retain GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy. While people have argued about this for almost a week now, it’s pushed another important story into the background. What is going to happen with Allen Robinson?
The 27-year old wide receiver had another excellent season for the Bears with 1,250 yards and six touchdowns. He remains their best offensive player and it isn’t particularly close. That is why fans are deathly afraid he’ll end up walking in free agency. All because the organization refused to meet his asking price for a new contract. Or at least that’s the narrative.
Could more be going on behind the scenes than people think?
Adam Jahns of The Athletic alluded to such a possibility. The Bears insider revealed in his recent article that he believes the team isn’t unwilling to make Robinson one of the highest-paid receivers in the game. It’s just that negotiations between the two sides have been complicated by different factors. One is the uncertainty of the 2021 salary cap which could drop due to the COVID-19 impact. The other? Reluctance on Robinson’s part to return.
“My belief is that the Bears have always been more than willing to pay up for Robinson – as in make him a top-five receiver with his contract. He’s worth it, too. But finding that common ground can take time. And situations do change. I’m sure Robinson wants to see what happens at quarterback.”
What makes that statement interesting is timing. Reports insist that contract talks between him and the Bears broke down around early October. By that time Nick Foles had assumed the starting role at quarterback and was coming off an ugly performance against Indianapolis. Could that along with Mitch Trubisky’s benching have been a breaking point for Robinson?
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Allen Robinson has never played with a good quarterback
He started out with Blake Bortles in Jacksonville, then moved to Trubisky in Chicago and finally Foles before going back to Trubisky. Nobody would call that trio the cream of the NFL crop. With his 28th birthday coming up, Robinson has to think about his future. If he’s going to achieve all of his personal goals, he likely knows he’ll have to find a quality quarterback to do it. If Chicago can’t provide him one, then he may have to seek one out elsewhere.
That goes into why he isn’t wild about the idea of the Bears franchise tagging him. Not only could it cost him a long-term deal and possibly more money per year, but it would also delay his chance to find that quarterback for another season. An NFL player only gets a certain number of prime years in football. This means he’d be 29 by the time he reaches the market.
Does this mean his Bears career is unsalvageable?
No. Allen Robinson has said on numerous occasions that he loves Chicago, the fans, and the organization in general. His issues are straightforward. He wants to get paid and he wants to play with a good quarterback. The Bears are easily capable of solving the first problem. It’s that second one that will decide how this relationship plays out. Can the team actually secure a viable QB?
If they can, the odds of Robinson sticking long-term go up significantly.