Bears Want To Pair Kenny Golladay With Allen Robinson
It’s not an either-or, apparently. The Bears are pursuing Kenny Golladay with the intention of also keeping Allen Robinson, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune hears. 
The Bears franchise tagged Robinson earlier this month, but some have speculated about a tag-and-trade scenario — or a rescinding of the tag — with Golladay taking his place. But, the Bears want both receivers. With Robinson locked in for $18MM this year, they’ll need some cooperation from the Lions’ free agent. That could be easier said than done. The Bears are sticking to a one-year offer for $11-$12MM. Golladay, meanwhile, wants roughly $18.5MM per year, according to PFT’s Mike Florio.
An $18.5MM AAV would still be less than top-of-the-market money for wide receivers. Currently, Cardinals star DeAndre Hopkins leads the pack with $27.25MM per annum. After that, it’s Julio Jones ($22MM), Keenan Allen ($20.025MM), Amari Cooper ($20MM), and Michael Thomas ($19.25MM) rounding out the top five. Golladay’s asking price would position him sixth among all WRs, just ahead of Odell Beckham Jr.’s $18MM AAV.
Robinson, heading into his age-28 season, quickly signed his tender after news of Golladay’s Bears visit leaked out. Coming off his third 1,000-yard campaign, he probably didn’t envision a scenario in which both he and Golladay would wind up in Chicago, catching passes from new quarterback Andy Dalton,
Bears Give DL Akiem Hicks Permission To Seek Trade
After releasing Kyle Fuller earlier tonight, the Bears are now looking to move on from another veteran defender. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune writes that the Bears have given defensive lineman Akiem Hicks permission to seek a trade.
Hicks is entering the final year of a four-year, $48MM extension he signed with Chicago in 2017. The 31-year-old is set to earn $10.MM in 2021, and Biggs writes that the defensive lineman would want a “substantial raise” if he’s to be traded. Biggs also notes that the requested extension is “unlikely” to materialize.
Hicks spent the first three-plus seasons of his career with the Saints before getting traded to the Patriots in 2015. He joined the Bears on a two-year deal the following offseason, and he quickly established himself as a starter on Chicago’s defensive line. Hicks compiled 23 sacks for the Bears between the 2016 and 2018 seasons, earning a Pro Bowl nod during that latter campaign.
The veteran was limited to only five games in 2019 after suffering an elbow injury, but he managed to start all 15 of his appearances in 2020. He ultimately finished the campaign having collected 49 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 21 QB hits.
Following the signings of quarterback Andy Dalton and offensive lineman Germain Ifedi (and Allen Robinson‘s decision to opt for the franchise tender), the Bears have been looking for ways to carve out cap space. The team moved on from former All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller earlier today.
Allen Robinson Signs Franchise Tender
Allen Robinson is under contract again with the Bears. Chicago’s No. 1 wide receiver signed his $18MM franchise tender on Thursday night, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Bears applied a higher-value franchise tag on Robinson, due to his 2020 salary, at the deadline earlier this month. While Robinson has expressed frustration about his situation in Chicago, he is now locked in to that $18MM salary for the 2021 season.
The sides have until July 15 to negotiate a long-term extension, though they were considerably off on terms when they discussed a deal last year. Chicago now has a new starting quarterback, with Andy Dalton‘s deal official. The former Bengals and Cowboys quarterback said Thursday that the Bears’ pledge he will be their starter influenced him to sign with the team.
Kenny Golladay also visited the Bears on Wednesday night, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes this helped influence Robinson to sign his tag. Golladay perhaps could have been a Robinson replacement at a lower rate, and the Bears could have rescinded Robinson’s tag to send him to what has thus far been an underwhelming market for receivers.
Robinson is going into his age-28 season. He is coming off his third 1,000-yard campaign, recording two such seasons in Chicago and one in Jacksonville. The Jaguars did not use the tag on him in 2018, leading him to Chicago. The Bears gave Robinson a $14MM-per-year pact — a higher-value price at the time — despite his 2017 ACL tear. Robinson has since established himself as one of the NFL’s better receivers. It will be interesting to see if the Bears move forward on an extension or if this merely becomes a rental season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/21
We’ll keep tabs on today’s “minor” moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: RB Darius Clark
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: LS Patrick Scales
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Greg Senat
- Waived: T Drake Dorbeck
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DL Carlos Watkins
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: WR Mike Thomas
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: TE Blake Bell, RB Elijah McGuire
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: TE Johnny Mundt
Philadelphia Eagles
- Re-signed: DT Hassan Ridgeway
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Trent Sherfield
NFL Contract Details: Jones, Floyd, Williams, QBs
Some assorted contract details from around the NFL:
- RB Aaron Jones, Packers: Four years, $48MM, including $20MM over first two years. $7MM roster bonus in 2023. Owed $16MM in 2023 and $12MM in 2024. Via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero on Twitter.
- LB Leonard Floyd, Rams: Four years, $64MM, including $32.5MM guaranteed. $14MM signing bonus. Salaries: $2MM (2021, fully guaranteed), $16.5MM (2022, fully guaranteed), $15.5MM (2023), $16MM (2024). Via Pelissero on Twitter.
- DE Leonard Williams, Giants: Three years, $63MM, including $45MM. $22.5MM signing bonus. Salaries: $3.5MM (2021, fully guaranteed), $19MM (2022, fully guaranteed), $18MM (2023). Cap charges: $11MM (2021), $26.5MM (2022), $25.5MM (2023). Via Manish Mehta on Twitter.
- QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, Washington: One year, $10MM, including $6MM guaranteed. Max value of $12MM. $6MM signing bonus. $3MM base salary, $1MM per-game roster bonuses. Up to $2MM in incentives. Via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post on Twitter.
- QB Jacoby Brissett, Dolphins: One year, $5MM, including $2.5MM guaranteed. $2.5MM signing bonus, up to $2.5MM in incentives. Via Pelissero on Twitter.
- QB Andy Dalton, Bears: One year, $10MM. $7MM signing bonus, $3MM base salary, up to $3MM in incentives. Via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter.
- LB Carl Lawson, Jets: Three years, $45MM, including $30MM guaranteed. $1MM signing bonus. Salaries: $6.2MM (2021, plus $7.8MM roster bonus), $15MM (2022), $15MM (2023). Cap charges: $14.3MM (2021), $15.3MM (2022), $15.3MM (2023). Up to $800K in sack incentives each year. Via Mehta on Twitter.
Bears Showed Interest In Ryan Fitzpatrick
The Bears landed their post-Mitchell Trubisky quarterback, with recent acquisition Andy Dalton indicating Thursday he was told he would be the team’s starter next season (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns). But they held discussions with at least one other option as well.
Ryan Fitzpatrick said Thursday more than three teams expressed interest in him this offseason, via Pro Football Talk, and Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan notes the Bears were one of those teams (Twitter link). The Broncos were also connected to Fitz, though reports of the team having conversations with the ex-Dolphins passer before the legal tampering period would indeed constitute tampering. So it is uncertain if any talks between the Broncos and the 16-year veteran passer transpired.
Washington signed Fitzpatrick, agreeing to terms with him a day before Dalton committed to the Bears. Dalton has a key connection with the Bears, with the team employing ex-Bengals offensive coordinator Bill Lazor as its OC. But Fitz has shown over the past three seasons he still has some intriguing capabilities left, despite being 38.
Chicago still has Nick Foles on its roster as well, with his reworked contract now expiring after the 2021 season. While it perhaps should not be ruled out the Bears will load up again for another round of Russell Wilson trade talks, the organization had multiple fallback options this week. Dalton will be the one to suit up for the team next season.
Kenny Golladay Met With Bears
He didn’t sign in the initial flurry of free agency, but it looks like receiver Kenny Golladay has no shortage of suitors. The former Lion spent Wednesday night meeting with GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy of the Bears, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
It sounds like Golladay staying in the NFC North is now a real possibility. As Schefter notes Golladay will visit the Giants Thursday, and we’ve heard there’s mutual interest between those two sides. The Bengals have also reportedly made Golladay an offer. The receiver market has been by all accounts weak so far, causing many of the big names to still be unsigned. Curtis Samuel got a nice contract from Washington yesterday, but there haven’t been too many other big deals handed out to wideouts yet.
The Bears’ interest is especially notable since they’ve already franchise tagged Allen Robinson. There were rumors earlier this offseason that Robinson could be tagged and traded, so that would seemingly be a possibility if they ink Golladay to a long-term deal. Or Chicago could just be trying to form what would be a truly elite 1-2 duo with Robinson and Golladay together.
It would certainly make life a lot easier for new quarterback signee Andy Dalton. Detroit drafted Golladay in the third-round out of Northern Illinois back in 2017, and he quickly blossomed into a stud.
He had 1,063 yards in 2018, and then 1,190 yards in 2019 to go with a league-leading 11 touchdown catches. Everyone was excited for his 2020 campaign with Matthew Stafford, but unfortunately injuries limited him to only five games.
The Dolphins were also rumored to be interested in his services the week before free agency opened. It’ll be very interesting to see what kind of money he lands, as he’ll definitely be seeking well north of $15MM annually and likely closer to $20MM.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/17/21
Today’s “minor” moves:
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: S Deon Bush
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: CB Tony Brown
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB Tae Davis
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed off waivers (from Texans): DT Andrew Brown
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released: DT Gabe Wright
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed: OL Adam Pankey
- Signed: WR Robert Foster
New England Patriots
- Re-signed: DL Cody Davis
New York Jets
- Re-signed: RB Josh Adams
Philadelphia Eagles
- Re-signed: RB Adrian Killins
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-signed: CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun, TE Daniel Helm
Tennessee Titans
- Re-signed: TE Anthony Firkser
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/17/21
Today’s the deadline for teams to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Bills: G Ike Boettger
- Chiefs: WR Byron Pringle
- Texans: DE P.J. Hall, S A.J. Moore
Non-Tendered:
- Bears: K Eddy Pineiro
- Giants: LB Devante Downs
- Texans: S Geno Stone
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Chiefs: TE Nick Keizer
- Jets: WR Jeff Smith
Non-Tendered:
- .
Bears To Re-Sign OL Germain Ifedi
It sounds like the Bears’ pursuit of Trent Williams will not result in a deal, but the club is bringing back one of its own offensive linemen. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Chicago is re-signing Germain Ifedi to a one-year deal worth up to $5MM (Twitter link). Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that $4.25MM of that amount will be in the form of base salary.
This represents a nice raise for Ifedi, who signed a veteran salary benefit contract with the Bears last offseason. After serving as a guard during his rookie season in Seattle in 2016, the former first-round pick kicked out to right tackle for the 2017-19 seasons. Chicago moved him back into the interior of the line, and he performed reasonably well, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 35th-best guard in the league (out of 80 qualifiers).
He also played better towards the end of the season, which certainly played a part in his pay bump. But after making a failed push for Williams and Russell Wilson, the Ifedi re-up is not likely to get the juices flowing for Bears fans.
The 26-year-old Texas A&M product will be blocking for Nick Foles, the newly-acquired Andy Dalton, or a rookie passer (or maybe all three).