With the trade deadline just hours away, the Chicago Bears still have some time to make some moves.
General manager Ryan Pace did say he was going to have an “aggressive mindset” heading into the trade deadline. Whether that’s as buyers or sellers remains to be seen. But given where the Bears are now, they should definitely be sellers.
One player that should garner interest across the NFL is wide receiver Allen Robinson, who was poised to be a hot commodity if he’d hit free agency earlier this year. Instead, the Bears slapped him with the franchise tag to keep their best offensive player on the roster for rookie quarterback Justin Fields.
But things have changed over the first half of the 2021 NFL season, particularly how Robinson has become virtually invisible in the Bears offense. Robinson has just 26 receptions for 271 yards and one touchdown in eight games.
Granted, a lot of that has to do with the passing game in general, which has struggled mightily. But it also has to do with the obvious lack of chemistry between Fields and Robinson.
If the Bears were to trade Robinson, Chicago can pay for the remaining $9 million-plus on his franchise tag by converting it into a bonus, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s Adam Hoge. They can’t add extra years to spread out the cap hit.
In a potential Allen Robinson trade, the #Bears can pay for any of the $9M+ remaining on his franchise tag by converting it to a bonus, a source confirmed. Just can’t add extra years to spread out the cap hit. @PFF_Brad was on top of this clarification yesterday.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) November 2, 2021
Given Robinson won’t be back in Chicago next year, if the Bears can get something in return for Robinson — a second-round pick would be ideal — it would help the Bears acquire some draft capital heading into 2022, where they’re without their first-round pick after trading up for Fields.
