AP Photo/Jim Mone
The future of Chicago Bears star receiver Allen Robinson has been up-in-the-air dating back to last September, which was also the last time there were contract discussions between both sides.
When the Bears placed the franchise tag on Robinson back on March 9, it didn’t come as a surprise after listening to GM Ryan Pace talk about Robinson’s importance to the team without any real progress in signing him to a long-term extension.
Robinson had been hesitant about signing his franchise tag, which made sense given the lack of progress on a new contract. But after some initial hesitancy, Robinson has signed his franchise tag, according to Ian Rapoport.
So why the sudden change?
According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Robinson noticed that wide receivers weren’t exactly raking in the cash in free agency. So why not take the $18 million payday and wait another year to hit the open market.
Biggs also noted that Robinson “does not believe agreeing to tag affects his leverage for a multi-year deal.”
Allen Robinson took note of the fact WRs are not breaking the bank in free agency. He does not believe agreeing to tag affects his leverage for a multi-year deal.https://t.co/n1uslrUE2f
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) March 19, 2021
Biggs doesn’t expect this to be a “tag and trade” scenario, which is interesting considering Pace and head coach Matt Nagy met with free-agent wideout Kenny Golladay on Wednesday night, examining their options at the receiver position.