Sometimes, you have to know when to call it a career, and for one former Chicago Bears star, that time might be coming very soon.
Once upon a time, the Bears were on a similar upward trajectory amid an eventful offseason like the one we're currently in. The big signing came when former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson came to Chicago to be the new WR1 and fans were elated.
Over the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Robinson enjoyed two 1,000-yard campaigns with subpar quarterback play coming from the likes of Mitchell Trubisky. Still, Robinson looked every bit of an alpha wideout.
He was able to make defensive backs pay on a regular basis in spite of who was under center.
Since his Chicago exit, though, things have looked rough -- and it might soon be over for Robinson.
Allen Robinson could be forced into early retirement if he doesn't find a new team soon
In his first season out of Chicago, Robinson caught just 33 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns with the Los Angeles Rams. He would go on to catch 34 passes for 280 yards and zero scores with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the following year.
And then, it unraveled last year in Detroit. Robinson caught three of seven targets for 30 yards and no scores.
At this point, he has yet to be signed to a new team. Robinson will turn 32 years old in August and his downward spiral feels like it's been happening forever now. The good times, in Chicago, seem long, long ago.
To be frank, though, his level of effort in that final Bears season was alarming. If you go back and watch some games from that 2021 campaign, Robinson looked tuned out, disinterested and simply flat-out didn't come to play on many occasions.
If you thought it was a quarterback problem, think again. His past three stints have proven otherwise. Robinson is who he is at this stage in the game.
If he's unable to land a new deal before OTAs, his career is all but over. Following the negative trajectory, the next step feels like a practice squad, at best.