The Chicago Bears signed WR Allen Robinson to a mega three-year, $42 million contract last offseason despite the fact he was coming off a torn ACL in the 2017 season opener. Their need for an alpha pass-catcher justified the risky transaction.
And even though Robinson’s first season in Chicago didn’t produce fantasy-friendly stats, he flashed the kind of playmaking ability in his first year after surgery that has coaches and fans excited about what he’s capable of in 2019.
Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy held their pre-training camp press conference in Decatur, Illinois Sunday and addressed the impact Robinson has both on and off the field for Chicago.
“He’s one of the top players I’ve ever coached,” Nagy said of Robinson. “He’s so humble at what he does, so professional at what he does, and so good at what he does.
“I think you saw last year at the end of the season, I know I could see it, is you get a feel of our quarterback, Mitchell (Trubisky), and there was a comfort level there with him (Robinson) and I expect nothing but for that thing to get stronger and stronger.”
Robinson started 12 games for the Bears last season and finished the year with 55 catches for 754 yards and four touchdowns. But it was how the season ended that has heightened expectations.
Trubisky targeted Robinson 13 times in Chicago’s wild-card playoff game against the Eagles; A-Rob caught 10 of those passes for 143 yards and one touchdown.
Those are the kind of numbers the Bears paid top dollar for.
Pace echoed Nagy’s assessment of Robinson and said the 25-year-old is noticeably more explosive as a route-runner this offseason, now closer to two years removed from tearing his ACL.
Robinson is just one of several receivers on the Bears’ roster to be excited to watch this summer. Youngsters Anthony Miller, Javon Wims and Riley Ridley will all push for significant playing time and could end up challenging Taylor Gabriel for targets this fall.
