We all know the situation surrounding the Chicago Bears and Allen Robinson is a little murky at best. Robinson wanted a contract extension last year — did not get one. Reports were floating around that the two sides were not even talking for most of the season. Could it have been due to the uncertainty surrounding the 2021 salary cap? Maybe. Could it have been that Allen Robinson was demanding top-five money? Possibly.
Now, Allen Robinson is playing on the franchise tag. A tag he did not want to sign because he felt like he deserved the security of a long-term contract plus a greater piece of the financial pie. However, after seeing how low the wide receiver market was for free agents this past offseason, Robinson quickly changed his mind and signed his tag. He even showed up for this week’s mandatory minicamp. He is not talking about his contract and is ready to focus on this season.
The thing is, now that rumors are the salary cap is about to jump back up in 2022, the Chicago Bears would be wise to extend Allen Robinson and even use the extra salary cap space to sign a few more key free agents still on the market. The future lies within Justin Fields and securing him a true WR1 should be an important part of that process.
Allen Robinson will be 28 this year and a four-year deal should not be out of the question. He might even prefer a three-year deal to try and lock in one last big payday before he starts to see his play decline due to age. Either way, the Chicago Bears should be making an effort to keep him around.