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One of the biggest questions for the Chicago Bears this offseason centers on the status of wide receiver Allen Robinson, who’s slated to become a free agent next month.
Despite contract negotiations stalling last season, there was still hope that Robinson could return as he wouldn’t rule out a return to the Bears…obviously if they’d have him.
But according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Bears and Robinson haven’t had any contract discussions since last September when the contract dispute went public. Which isn’t encouraging news regarding one of the NFL’s projected top free agents.
If general manager Ryan Pace intends to keep Robinson in Chicago’s plans in 2021 and/or beyond, he doesn’t have a lot of time to make a decision. One option is the Bears could use the franchise tag, which would pay Robinson roughly $15.8 million in 2021. Pelissero even speculated that Chicago could use the franchise tag and then trade him.
“That would certainly seem to bring the (franchise) tag into play,” Pelissero said. “Whether it is the Bears to try to do an extension, whether it is setting up Robinson to play on the tag, or maybe even a tag-and-trade scenario.”
Robinson has been Chicago’s best offensive player over the last three seasons, and it’s come as a shock to many why the Bears haven’t locked down a key part of their offense to an extension.
The salary cap is certainly a hurdle this offseason, as it’s expected to decrease from $198.2 million to roughly $180 million. But if Robinson was a priority for general manager Ryan Pace, he’d manage to find a way to sign him to an extension.
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