One of the lone bright spots in an otherwise brutal 2020 Chicago Bears season has been wide receiver Allen Robinson, who despite playing another year with underwhelming quarterbacks, is on track for a productive campaign as the Bears’ top wideout.
Through 12 games this year, Robinson has 77 catches for 904 yards and five touchdowns. He’s on pace for 102 catches, 1,205 yards and seven scores.
Most teams would love to have a guy like A-Rob on their roster. They’d build a passing game around him. But these are the Bears, and GM Ryan Pace has done nothing to suggest Robinson is a priority to bring back in 2021.
Robinson’s contract expires at the end of this season, and unless Chicago slaps him with the franchise tag, he’ll be headed for unrestricted free agency.
Robinson’s contract situation is a complicated one. First, he wants to be paid like an elite wide receiver, which means an average annual salary north of $20 million. There’s a worthy debate to be had about whether he’s actually in that tier of pass-catchers.
Second, even if the Bears value him on that level, the financial impact COVID-19 has had on the league could leave Chicago’s front office in a bind. Is this the offseason to break the bank in free agency, even if it’s to re-sign one of your own key players?
Third, the Bears are nowhere close to contending for a Super Bowl. They don’t have a championship-caliber quarterback and the defense, which once looked like it had some special qualities, has come crashing back to earth.
And let’s not forget Robinson’s own wishes. He’s going to get paid on the open market, and he’ll be able to pick the quarterback he plays with for the foreseeable future. What incentive does he have to come back to Chicago and an offense that will likely field a rookie quarterback and a new coaching staff in Year 1 of a rebuild?
The odds A-Rob comes back to the Bears are low, and the fanbase appears ready to deal with that reality. I ran a poll on Twitter asking fans how they’d like the team to handle Robinson’s contract, and a surprising majority voted to let him walk in free agency.
With the way the #Bears are trending this season, do you want them to bring back Allen Robinson on a long-term deal or should they let him walk (insert sad face) and invest that money elsewhere?
— Bryan Perez (@BryanPerezNFL) December 8, 2020
Some fans replied with a tag and trade suggestion, which would make sense assuming the Bears can find a trade partner willing to negotiate a big payday with Robinson while also sacrificing draft picks for the right to sign him. That seems unlikely, but it’s certainly within the realm of possibilities.