The Chicago Bears made it official Tuesday afternoon, placing the franchise tag on veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson.
That had long been considered a “when, not if” transaction for general manager Ryan Pace. And despite Robinson’s insinuations over the last few months that he would be aggravated to receive the tag, Pace made it clear last week that the front office has a big picture to keep in mind in its ongoing roster refurbishment efforts.
“I’ve had a million conversations with A-Rob over three years,” Pace said. “And he’s well aware of what he means to all of us. This is just the business side. And we’re not the only team in the NFL that’s dealing with this right now.”
The Bears will charge into free agency next week with plenty of items on their to-do list and salary-cap constraints as the league’s 2021 cap might dip as low as $180 million after being north of $198 million last year.
So what was behind the Bears’ decision to put the franchise tag on Robinson? How will Robinson react publicly and privately to the designation? And what does it mean for coach Matt Nagy’s efforts to improve his offense?
Tribune Bears writers Dan Wiederer and Colleen Kane tackle all of that in this edition of “Real Talk.”
Dan Wiederer: It wasn’t just Ryan Pace who checked an important offseason item off his checklist Tuesday. You and I, Colleen, now get to move past the “Are the Bears going to tag Robinson, and if so, when?” speculation. It’s done. And the result is what we long expected.
Truthfully, as much as Robinson may be irked by this transaction — and it’s understandable why — this was the most practical move for Pace to make. Now it’s all about how the sides handle their business with each other going forward.
By applying the franchise tag to Robinson, Pace made certain the Bears won’t lose one of the team’s most valuable offensive assets without getting anything in return. Sending Robinson into free agency to test the open market would have been foolish. As we all know, the Bears offense isn’t exactly overflowing with proven, top-tier playmakers. And Robinson has been as reliable as they come the last three seasons.
Now he’s guaranteed to make $18 million under the tag in 2021. And you have to figure the Bears will make significant efforts to negotiate a longer-term extension before the mid-July deadline to do so.
At the very least, Pace now has a longer bridge in those contract talks with more than four months to work things out with Robinson and his camp. That’s a big deal in an unusual offseason like this. It gives the Bears time to work through the rest of the roster and navigate around their salary-cap constraints.
And in case you hadn’t heard, the Bears have to figure out who their starting quarterback for 2021 will be and how much that quarterback will cost. Once that giant piece of the puzzle is in place, the Bears will have a clearer picture of how much they can afford to pay Robinson.
Colleen Kane: You’re right, Dan. It’s not hard to understand both sides in this case.
Pace would have been foolish not to use the tag on Robinson when the sides couldn’t reach an agreement on a long-term extension. In 2020, Robinson had 102 catches — 41 more than rookie Darnell Mooney, the second-best Bears receiver. Robinson turned those 102 grabs into 1,250 yards and six touchdowns. He has been a consistent playmaker over three seasons in Chicago, and on top of that, teammates and coaches laud him as the ultimate professional.
For Pace and coach Matt Nagy, who are under pressure to get the Bears to perform in 2021, it was crucial they didn’t let Robinson get away for nothing.
And, of course, Robinson has every right to want to be paid. He has made that known, and while he didn’t take to Twitter to voice his opinions as of Tuesday afternoon, he did like a telling tweet declaring Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay the winner of the day. The Lions opted not to use a tag on Golladay, who will become a free agent.
Obviously, that would have been the better outcome for Robinson, but it will be interesting to watch how he handles the situation from here on out. When the sides failed to reach an extension before last season, Robinson’s representatives asked the Bears about a potential trade, and he briefly deleted all Bears references from his social media accounts. But by all accounts, he worked and played as hard as always.
So what’s the move now? Will he and the Bears suddenly get closer on a deal, and if not, then what?
Wiederer: Robinson has to decide how he wants to express his dismay, whether that’s through thumb work on social media — likes, retweets, cryptic messaging — or by ducking out on some of the Bears’ offseason work in the months ahead. But the latter move won’t have as big an impact if the on-field work in organized team activities and minicamp is again scrapped in 2021 in favor of Zoom gatherings.
So how can Robinson and his agent bridge the divide between them and the front office, pressing for a new deal with proper market value while also realizing the franchise tag gives the team most of the control here?
It’s not an easy riddle to solve, particularly for an upstanding player such as Robinson who has built a reputation for being low-maintenance.
The next big step on Robinson’s side is having patience, letting the Bears quarterback hunt resolve and assessing the other moves the team makes in free agency and the draft. The overall roster picture will look much clearer by early May. Robinson also will be able to see what receivers such as Golladay, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Will Fuller command in free agency and use that accordingly. Keeping an eye on the situation with Chris Godwin — whom the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tagged Tuesday — is advised too.
Kane: It’s fair to wonder if Robinson’s camp might push for a trade to a team with more wiggle room to sign him to the deal he desires. While that might net the Bears some needed draft capital, it wouldn’t solve their problem of needing more proven talent on offense.
The Bears receivers room doesn’t have a clear replacement as a No. 1 guy. Mooney had a strong rookie year, and Nagy recently hyped him up as the “real deal” and the “complete package” on the Tribune’s “Bear Download” podcast. But the Bears need more than Mooney and Anthony Miller, who has 134 catches for 1,564 yards over three seasons.
Trading Robinson would only add to an offseason offensive checklist that already includes that small task of finding a new quarterback as well as solidifying the right tackle spot after Pace chose to decline Bobby Massie’s 2021 option.
Speaking of quarterback, I’d be curious to know how Robinson feels as he watches the Bears’ latest search. It’s well-documented that he hasn’t played with the most capable quarterbacks during his time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Bears. Robinson’s biggest concern will be getting paid what he deserves, but you have to think he’ll be more anxious to hear the Bears’ next move now that they’ve exercised the tag.
Wiederer: No doubt about it. It’s the one move everyone inside and outside Halas Hall is waiting for. Wherever the Bears land with this latest quarterback quest, it will set the tone for what 2021 can shape up to be.
Without question, Robinson and the rest of the receivers would prefer to be in the huddle with a proven leader with Pro Bowl credentials — someone like, say, Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson. But there’s a very real possibility the Bears will head into Week 1 in September with a journeyman veteran who is nowhere near as accomplished as those two.
Robinson, as you mentioned, has the option to ask for a trade if his discontent becomes that sharp. But the Bears would have no obligation to grant such a request and would be foolish, in a prove-it year for Pace and Nagy, to subtract weapons from their offense.
The ideal situation, as Pace mentioned last week, is to eventually find win-win territory for the team and the player in contract negotiations. The key now is for both sides to be realistic and open to compromise, to work toward an arrangement that leaves everybody happy. Still, I thought that kind of agreement would have occurred well before the 2020 season. And yet here we are.
Kane: Here we are. And while you opened this conversation by saying we finally can move past the franchise tag speculation, we may have another few months of new speculation until the sides find that compromise.
Wiederer: Fair point. And the drama will only escalate if Robinson refuses to sign his franchise-tag tender and a standoff continues deep into the summer or beyond.
For now, though, everyone must remember to have patience. The Bears will turn their attention to other, more immediate business and circle back with Robinson when it’s appropriate. It’s all part of the business.