The Bears’ best offensive player, a man who has repeatedly expressed how much he wants to stay with the organization long enough to become one of its all-time greats, has come to terms with the possibility that they do not respect him enough to pay what he’s worth.
Wide receiver Allen Robinson has been the only consistently good thing about this offense and he’s prepared to find a new home as he heads toward unrestricted free agency in March.
“Right now, everything is pretty much on the table,” Robinson said Monday. “Over the past three years, since I stepped foot in Chicago, I’ve [had] a great respect for the organization, for the McCaskey family. Definitely thankful for them... So I’ve created a lot of relationships and everything like that here, but right now, everything is on the table.”
As it should be. No one inside or outside Halas Hall should be surprised that Robinson is ready to look elsewhere after the way things have gone over the past year.
He gave the Bears 2,397 yards on 200 catches over past two seasons, fourth in the NFL in both categories in that span, despite playing primarily with quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky (86.8 passer rating) and Nick Foles (80.8). Imagine what he could do with someone better.
Robinson probably imagines that often, especially after his negotiations with the Bears for a contract extension repeatedly ran aground. He watched other star receivers like Keenan Allen (four years, $80 million), Julio Jones (three years, $66 million) and DeAndre Hopkins (two years, $54 million) sign massive extensions and wanted one of his own.
When he sought an average annual salary of $20 million or more, a source said, the Bears rebuffed him. That’s when Robinson cleared his social media of any Bears logos in September and, a source said, floated the idea of a trade.
Aside from that, Robinson has shown exceptional self-control, maintained a diplomatic tone and produced the second-best season of his career at 102 catches, 1,250 yards and six touchdowns. But it’s clear he and the Bears haven’t reconciled.
