Add Bears receiver Allen Robinson to the list of extension candidates who seem unlikely to get a new deal in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. During a recent interview on ESPN 1000’s Carmen and Jurko show (h/t Cam Ellis of NBC Sports Chicago), Robinson said that the Bears have not discussed a new contract with his agent. 
“We haven’t heard nothing,” Robinson said. “I think just as far as me and my agent, from [the] conversations that we’ve had, we’re not necessarily anticipating hearing anything at this point.”
Robinson indicated towards the end of last season that he would be interested in an extension with the Bears, but in May, we learned that the two sides were not close to an accord. Now, although Ellis indicates the team did have some internal discussions about a Robinson re-up in February, it’s unclear whether negotiations with Robinson’s camp were ever initiated.
Robinson, 27 in August, has one year to go on his three-year, $42MM deal. When Robinson inked his contract, it was near the top of the pecking order for the position. Since then, WR salaries have advanced past the $20MM/year mark. Julio Jones, Michael Thomas, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr., Brandin Cooks, Adam Thielen, Jarvis Landry, and Stefon Diggs went on to leapfrog Robinson. He won’t top the likes of Jones or Thomas, of course, but he has a strong case to make for a decent pay bump.
The Bears are projected to hold more than $40MM in cap room next year, but that’s predicated on the cap projection staying as-is. Right now, that seems pretty unlikely.
If the Bears don’t start to get their act together, I’m done as a fan. We are living in a bizarro world.
If he’s asking for his weight in gold I’d just look at the free agent market and spend money elsewhere.
Curtis Samuel or Dede Westbrook, underrated guys like Kendrick Bourne, Allen Lazard, or Keelan Cole, and a veteran like Mohammed Sanu plus drafting a young receiver you could make a decent receiving group without spending much.
Stop lol those guys couldn’t hold A Rob’s jock. A Rob holds his own against the best corners in the game. Those guys would get eaten alive. Mohammed Sanu? Allen Lazard? Cmon now
So you want to pay him 18-20 mill? Pass. Cap is going down due to covid
Draft a receiver in 2021, sign some free agents who’d command less, and spend money elsewhere, like oline or QB.
What good is having a guy like Robinson if you have no one to throw him the ball or can’t protect the guy throwing him the ball. 1 overpriced excellent receiver doesn’t win games. Good olines and good QB play does.
I agree with Oline and QB winning games but weapons also win games and we don’t have nearly enough, A Rob is about it. Not saying pay him top dollar at the position but gotta have some playmakers on the team.
Have you watched Sanu the past 2 seasons?
Y’all read that comment entirely wrong. He wasn’t directly comparing any of those players to Robinson. He just said that the Bears (or anyone else for that matter) have cheaper options to build a receiving corps without spending a large portion of a reduced cap on one player, especially with an uncertain quarterback situation. If you sign Robinson, then decide that you need a new quarterback, you’re locked into grabbing a free agent veteran and hoping that it works out, because you won’t have time to teach a rookie on that expensive contract. If the Bears do a sign and trade, though, then that’d make more sense, or work out a list of trade destinations for Robinson where he’d agree to sign an extension after being traded to get some value. The thing that makes that difficult is that the Bears really wanted to give Trubisky one last real shot at salvaging his job, and it’d be difficult to do that without his top receiver. So Robinson has value now, but unless Trubisky excels and proves his value for the future, it’d be pointless to extend him when you’lol need a new QB.
Pecking order.
Draft a young receiver
Sign Samuel or Westbrook
Sign Bourne, Cole, or Lazard
Sign Sanu.
Sanu would be the 4th best option with you drafting, hopefully, a #1, Samuel and Westbrook as #2, and Bourne, Cole, Sanu, or Lazard as $3 or #4.
I’d put Sanu a little higher, but yes, I’d agree with your post. He was playing injured last year as well, and at this point is not someone you’d sign to carry your wideout group, but he is a good option who is a good locker room presence and is actually a great run blocker at that position. Just depends on what Chicago wants out of its WRs-Sanu would work best with a couple of young receivers (like possibly any of those others you mentioned) to develop further.
Doubt the Bear let him walk, They just waiting to see what the cap space will be, then they will work out an extension.
This is one guy they need to hang on to. He’s a gamer and the only serious WR they have. After him, they’re very weak at the position.
Safe to assume they’re not resigning Mitch, in which case they’ll have another QB on a rookie contract. That frees up some long term money.
Perhaps, but I have to think Mack is going to want a new deal before 2022 (the opt out year on his contract for the Bears) now that he’s seen Myles Garrett get a huge payday.
I agree with that to a point. Mack is gonna have to do way better than last year to ask for more than he’s already getting. IMO.
That’s why the Raiders dealt him. People complained, but that much money for a player who ultimately did not give a team more wins is pretty limiting. And that’s when Mack was playing better. Like it or not, the truth is that almost every time a non-QB takes up that much cap space, the team does not see any tangible benefit. Of course, even a QB taking up that space is problematic much of the time.
Mack actually graded as one of the best pass rushers, I believer number 6 or 7 per pro football focus. He didn’t have help with Hicks going down, and Floyd continuously disappearing, so teams basically double and triple teamed him to slow him down. That’s why they signed Quinn.
I do agree though that he was a financial liability for the Raiders