Is Allen Robinson Emerging as a Legitimate Free Agent Option?

After a few pieces of information have developed, there appears to be a chance that Allen Robinson could be a legitimate option for the Chicago Bears.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the number one thing that Ryan Pace must work on this offseason is overhauling his wide receivers. His receivers were a disaster last year. Partially thanks to injuries to Cameron Meredith and Kevin White, but also because the team didn’t have any depth at the position and whiffed on the Markus Wheaton signing.

Pace knows what he has to do. He’s already been linked to potentially trading for Jarvis Landry and signing Albert Wilson. Allen Robinson is largely considered the position’s top potential free agent, but at the same time, there was a general consensus that Robinson would never leave Jacksonville. Most thought the Jaguars wouldn’t even let Robinson test free agency.

That is one of the biggest shocks to come out of the combine. Yes, Robinson is coming off a major injury, but he’s shown that he is the type of player that can improve a quarterback and elevate an offense. If in fact, Robinson is available, he’s going to be coveted by basically every team that has cap space and a need at wide receiver, so why do the Bears have an advantage?

First of all, it appears that Allen Robinson is a Cubs’ fan.

Perhaps it’s nothing, but Robinson did push out a photo of himself on social media wearing a Cubs jersey. Perhaps he just likes the team, perhaps it’s just a fashion thing, or perhaps he has a soft spot for Chicago.

Second, reports are the Bears are going for two free agent signings at wide receiver.

Albert Wilson makes so much sense. He can play both the slot and the outside. He already has a familiarity with Matt Nagy’s offense, and he can be had at a pretty affordable price. The Bears are planning on having a healthy Cameron Meredith which also means they need one more starting caliber WR. They aren’t going to not make a major investment at wide receiver which is why the Jarvis Landry rumors aren’t surprising. But if Allen Robinson is available, he makes plenty of sense for the Bears at receiver.

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Finally, there is one last thing to look at in terms of why the Bears are a potential desirable location for Robinson. It’s not a young ascending quarterback, it’s not a coaching staff focused on making an electric offense, it’s not the youth that Pace has put together, those are all positives, but the last key component is friendship.

Allen Robinson attended Penn State University from 2011 to 2013 before declaring after his junior season and becoming a second-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014. There was a certain someone who was at Penn State the same time as Robinson, but played until 2014 because he stayed there for all four seasons. That individual is Adrian Amos. The Bears new running back coach is Charles London, who was also a coach during the 2012 and 2013 seasons at Penn State.

There’s no guaranteed that Amos and Robinson were pals at Penn State, but Amos and Robinson do go back and forth on Twitter, in fact, Amos has retweeted or responded to Robinson four times since the Super Bowl. It appears the recruiting of Robinson is in full effect.

None of this amounts to anything substantial. There haven’t been any reports of Ryan Pace meeting with Robinson’s camp, and we haven’t seen any reports of Robinson’s teams that he’s interested in, nor do we know for certain if the Jagua, in fact, let Robinson walk, but there is definitely some smoke out there, so maybe, just maybe there’s some fire.