Chicago Bears must use the franchise tag on Allen Robinson

I understand that Allen Robinson does not want to see the franchise tag. The thing is…too bad. I know this sounds awful from a player’s perspective. As much as I agree with Allen Robinson on the situation, it is part of the league and I cannot fault the Chicago Bears for taking advantage of a tool at their disposal. Just like I cannot fault Allen Robinson for choosing to sit out should he receive the franchise tag.

This is an ugly situation that does not seem to have had to happen the way it has played out. I am not a Ryan Pace hater. I am not a stan either. That said, I do think he has done a decent job as the Chicago Bears general manager. Yes, I will even forgive him for missing on Deshaun Watson in 2017 (stop with the Patrick Mahomes talk). Now, even though I thought he and Matt Nagy should have been fired, I can still look around the league and see what direction Pace was heading.

Maybe this makes me a Ryan Pace apologist, but at this point, it really does not matter. The Chicago Bears stuck with their guys for 2021 and there is nothing we can do about it. Now, all we can hope for is that Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy either fix things or they fail miserably and the team cleans house in 2022.

One way Ryan Pace can ensure his departure after this season is by botching the Allen Robinson situation. February 23, 2021, was the first day teams could designate franchise and transition tags. None have been announced yet, but that’s because the deadline to announce is March 9, 2021, and teams are trying to negotiate extensions rather than have to rely on the tag.

Drama has surrounded the Chicago Bears and Allen Robinson situation dating back to last offseason. With cryptic social media posts and even calling out the organization directly for lack of negotiations, Allen Robinson has made it clear to fans, media and other teams that the Bears and he are not close in negotiations. He has even made it known that there has been little to no communication between the two sides and not because his team was unwilling to negotiate.

Ryan Pace has two ways to fix the problem on his end this offseason. Either the team finds a way to pay Allen Robinson the extension he deserves or they franchise tag him. If the first cannot happen, the Bears must tag Robinson. The team cannot let him just walk and receive nothing in return. At the very least, the Bears should tag and trade Robinson. If Ryan Pace just lets him walk, he should be fired immediately.