Getty Wide receiver Allen Robinson #12 of the Chicago Bears.
Fresh off of a 10-point loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the opening week, the New York Giants are set to travel to Chicago this weekend to face off with the 1-0 Bears this weekend. But if it were up to Bears star wideout Allen Robinson, it’s starting to sound like he’d prefer to be anywhere else.
No, that’s not a dig at the fact that he catches passes from Mitchell Trubisky for a living. The fact of the matter is, Robinson is fed up with Chicago’s unwillingness to reward him for his stellar play, so much so that one-time Pro Bowler went as far as to delete any association with the franchise from his Instagram account. How upset is Robinson with his current team? His pictures as a Jaguar remain up.
As you could expect, trade rumors have since spread like wildfire revolving around the Bears’ leading receiver, with some outlets even noting he had requested a trade. Robinson’s agent, Brandon Parker has since denounced those claims, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. With that said, Parker admits that his client is “unhappy that Chicago has been unwilling to pay him market value for wide receivers.”
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What Impact Does A-Rob’s Situation Have on Giants
Chances are, barring a sudden change of events, Robinson will be out on the field come 1:00 pm ET at Soldier Field to face off with the Giants. That news is certainly less than appealing for a Big Blue secondary that surrendered three touchdown passes this past Monday night, two of which went to Steelers wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Robinson, who tied for the NFL lead in receiving touchdowns back in 2015, has not topped seven touchdowns in a single season since. However, he is fresh off his first 1,000-yard receiving campaign.
Robinson enjoyed a solid, yet underwhelming Week 1 showing vs. the Detroit Lions, hauling five of his nine targets for 74 yards. If the Giants can hold the wideout to a stat-line even remotely similar come Week 2, they’ll undoubtedly chalk that feat up as a win.
With Robinson likely trying to once again prove his worth to the Bears organization, Giants cornerback James Bradberry will likely have his hands full throughout the evening. The good news for New York is that by all accounts thus far, Bradberry appears up for the challenge. The free-agent addition performed well in his Giants debut in Week 1, including a fantastic pass-breakup against Steelers wideout James Washington.
Where the Giants could face their toughest task is actually opposite Robinson, where Anthony Miller has quietly begun to emerge as one of the league’s better high-volume receiving options in football. Fresh off a 76-yard, one-touchdown outing, Miller has now either found the endzone or received nine-plus targets in all but two games since Week 11 of last year.
Second-year man Corey Ballentine, and slot corner Darnay Holmes, will need to step up to the plate in order to slow down a Trubisky-led Bears passing offense that has surprisingly averaged 287-plus passing yards over five of their last seven games, including three separate three passing touchdown performances.
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