The Allen Robinson and Chicago Bears saga took another turn on Thursday as the two sides weren’t able to get a deal done ahead of the deadline, as expected. With no long-term deal done, Robinson will officially play the 2021 season on the franchise tag costing the Bears $18M but his future in Chicago is a little more murky.
Robinson and the two sides have negotiated for over a year now and with nothing coming of it, the Bears opted to use that franchise tag early in free agency. With the two sides not getting a deal done, it’s clear that they were far apart in negotiations.
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On Thursday night, 670 The Score’s Chris Emma reported that Robinson was seeking $20M per year on a long-term deal and Chicago was at the range of about $16M, which is $4M a year off. Ouch.
Robinson’s camp and the Bears haven’t negotiated in earnest on a new contract since last September, when discussions broke down. Robinson coveted in the range of $20 million annually, a market set by receiver peers like Amari Cooper of the Cowboys and Keenan Allen of the Chargers. The Bears were well short of that in their offer, topping out around $16 million annually.
Robinson has stated he wants to stay in Chicago and retire as a Bear but as the months have gone on, that outcome isn’t likely to happen anymore. Chicago can still tag Robinson again but it would cost them $22M next season, which is $2M more than what they could have paid him annually on a new deal.
It just doesn’t make sense to tag him at that price as a long-term deal would have been more beneficial.
Since joining Chicago in 2018, Robinson has been the Bears most productive receiver despite playing with multiple quarterbacks over the past three seasons. He has 255 receptions, 3,151 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns with the Bears.
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