Early Tuesday morning, the Bears and wide receiver Allen Robinson agreed to a three-year, $42MM deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal was made official Wednesday night. Robinson was arguably this year’s top available wide receiver, edging Sammy Watkins.
The Bears lost a major target last offseason when Alshon Jeffery left in free agency to sign with the Eagles. Now, he provided young quarterback Mitch Trubisky with a true high-end option.
Robinson had spent his entire career with the Jaguars until today. After a breakout 2015 campaign that saw him haul in 80 catches for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns, Robinson took a step back in 2016 with “only” 73 catches for 883 yards and six scores. Then, he tore his ACL during his team’s Week 1 contest against the Texans last season. Robinson believes he’ll be back at full strength this year and if that’s the case, he’ll be terrorizing the NFC North.
Despite suffering a serious knee injury, Robinson was still able to garner $14MM annually, a figure which will place him inside the top-10 among wide receiver contracts. While it remains to be seen how Robinson’s new deal is structured — it’s possible the Bears can escape the pact after a year, depending on how bonuses are allocated — the 24-year-old was able to cash in even with a injury on his ledger.
Chicago, for its part, was in desperate need of wide receiver additions. Both Dontrelle Inman and Kendall Wright are unrestricted free agents, while Cameron Meredith and Josh Bellamy are restricted free agents. The Bears used original round tenders on both Meredith and Bellamy, meaning other clubs can potentially poach them without compensation heading to Chicago. Meanwhile, former first-round pick Kevin White has struggled to stay healthy during his NFL tenure and is currently recovering from injury.
The Jaguars reportedly considered deploying the franchise tag on Robinson, which would have parked him in Jacksonville at a one-year cost of roughly $16MM. Instead, the Jags let Robinson hit the open market, and now boast a wide receiver corps topped by Allen Hurns (who is a candidate for release), Keelan Cole, and Dede Westbrook. Fellow pass-catcher Marqise Lee is also an unrestricted free agent.
[RELATED: Bears Depth Chart]
This happend at 3 am and yet you report it now
But just saying love normally how quickly you guys post
Ever think people need to sleep??? Just saying
Sure. People need to sleep…but apparently not the dozens of reporters who were breaking and confirming the story at 2am.
Not knocking the site either. I think we’re just spoiled with how quickly stuff gets posted on the baseball side. Maybe it just has a bigger staff, though…
I’ve had this app for a long time I feel like it’s always been that way. The website will post it as it’s reported in the middle of the night but the app always seems to wait until the morning. I personally don’t mind either way as long as the story goes on the app and I am able to give my opinion on it haha.
I get your point, but I think this whole “rumors” site started with baseball, since that sport generally has the most movement of players between teams. Also, MLB execs are less secretive about what’s going on behind the scenes than the NFL….. and especially the NHL for that matter. Anyways, the reason these guys aren’t johnny on the spot here is likely for reasons already stated in addition to probably just waiting for a team official to confirm it.
Yeah, on the MLBrumors page they’ll give you an hour by hour, if not minute by minute breakdown of a player signing or getting traded to a new team.
Finally….. it happened at 3AM….. they posted it 5 hours later at 8AM. Are people seriously complaining about this? The reporters staying awake to report it work for 24/7 sports news sites….. 24… 7. That or they’re the signing team’s beat reporter. In other words if they aren’t the first to report it they’re not doing their jobs.
Myself, I was asleep then, so it doesn’t matter to me. I’m sure others were, too.
Welcome to Chicago, Allen! We need ya!
They need at least one more WR. Maybe in the draft.
Will they guarantee wr white 5 th year option? Failing to do same to cb fuller looking like about a 5mil$ mistake
That bears offense is quietly being built in to a strong unit. Your QB of the future is in place with Trubisky, you have an elite RB in Howard and a strong backup in Tarik Cohen, add in a Pro Bowl caliber WR(when healthy) in Robinson, and add a TE in the draft or free agency, along with some complimentary WRs.
Likely to target a WR in draft and free agency yet. Drafted a TE last year in Shaheen who they like a lot, if they sign a TE I doubt it would be a top guy.
Burton at TE and now Gabriel. Great slot guy. Hopefully white or Meredith can step up outside opposite ARob.
Could O lineman. Couple linebackers (pass rushers) and I like what I’m seeing.
*couple O lineman