NFL Trade Rumors: Will the Chicago Bears trade WR Allen Robinson before the trade deadline?
Allen Robinson is one of the most dynamic and reliable receivers in the NFL. The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted him in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. He had a career-high 1,400 yards and 14 TDs in 2015 with the Jaguars and made it to the Pro Bowl.
A torn ACL prematurely ended his 2017 season, and the Jaguars decided to let him walk and join the Chicago Bears in the 2018 offseason. Since joining the team, Robinson has been terrific, recording two straight seasons of 1,000+ receiving yards. In 2020, he had a career-high 102 catches. The Chicago Bears put the franchise tag on him after the 2020 season and their future together is up in the air.
Will WR Allen Robinson be with the Chicago Bears past the trade deadline?
Allen Robinson has been franchise-tagged and there's not much to indicate that the two parties will agree on a long-term deal. The deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign a long-term deal is July 15th.
The Bears and Robinson have had no real talks about a new contract this year and it remains unlikely it gets done. Allen Robinson doesn't sound optimistic about getting a deal this year, but he is also not voicing any displeasure or concern about the matter.
Trade rumors have been swirling all offseason, but Robinson was still present at the Bears' minicamp.
Allen Robinson will earn $17.9 million under the franchise tag if he signs a one-year tender, which is likely. He was the only bright spark on the Bears' offense last season with 102 catches for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns. He has carried the offense over the last two seasons, posting at least 1,100 yards in each of those seasons despite poor quarterback play.
Robinson wants to be paid like the top pass-catchers in the NFL and he seems worth it as the workhorse of this team. He missed out on a significant long-term deal with the Jaguars after his injury and wants to get his big payday this time around.
The Chicago Bears have around $5 million in cap space and will have over $36 million in 2022. Notable free agents the Bears need to re-sign other than Robinson are Germain Ifedi, Tashaun Gipson, Anthony Miller, Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd. Miller, Goodwin and Byrd are arguably their third, fourth and fifth-best receivers. Four of their top five receivers will be free agents next offseason.
Will WR Allen Robinson stay in Chicago past the trade deadline?
There's more than a good chance that he does. The Bears could wait until next league year to give Allen Robinson a long-term deal. They'll have a lot more cap space to work with in 2022. Ultimately, Chicago cannot afford to lose Robinson right now.
There's no other WR on the roster that could step up and be a decent WR1. Darnell Mooney is the WR2, but he's still young and inexperienced. Quarterback Justin Fields was drafted this year to be their future franchise leader and he needs to have at least one solid receiver on the roster.
What are the odds that WR Allen Robinson won't be a Bear come to the deadline?
The odds of this are low. They don't have much talent at wide receiver with experience. If Chicago does let go of Robinson, the only logical reason is that they will rebuild the offense before letting Fields becomes the starter and roll with Andy Dalton this season. They could use the draft capital and extra cap space from trading Robinson to bring in new talent. But stranger things have happened in the NFL and one of the top teams could pull the trigger on a trade for Robinson.