Getty WR Allen Robinson II of the Chicago Bears
Will the Chicago Bears give their best offensive player the contract extension he so richly deserves? That has been one of the burning questions surrounding the team this offseason: will they or won’t they extend Allen Robinson? While it seems obvious the Bears will — and should — extend the contract of their most reliable receiver, the fact that they haven’t done so yet has left fans and some members of the media perplexed.
Bears general manager Ryan Pace, who has made it a habit of extending key players in early September, including Cody Whitehair, Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman, has yet to do the same with Robinson. Pace has done this with one key player in August or September every year since 2016, but so far in 2020, he has stayed quiet.
When he was asked about extending Robinson Monday, Pace said there was no current deadline on contract negotiations, and he also said that whatever salary cap restrictions may be heading the team’s way in 2021 won’t affect any moves the team wants to make.
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Bears GM on A-Rob Extension: ‘A-Rob is Important to Us’
Per usual, Pace was mum and non-committal when asked about Robinson’s contract negotiations, saying he preferred to keep the details in house.
“I don’t see this week as the deadline,” Pace told the media Monday about potentially extending Robinson. “I know this is the generic answer and all this, but you know when we work on these deals, we know how important A-Rob is to us – not just as a player, but as a teammate. But those things are going to remain behind the scenes as we work through the process.”
It seems like a no-brainer to extend Robinson, and it could still happen soon, but by waiting this long to get a deal done, the Bears have only hurt themselves fiscally.
Allen Robinson Addresses Contract Talks: ‘I’m Not Focused on That’
When he spoke with the media on Tuesday, Robinson did what he always does: he said he’s not focused on his contract.
“For me, it’s never my focus. Again, I’ve said that before. I’m not focused on that, I’m focused on the season. We’ve got a game this week, so that’s where my concern is. I’m focused on the Detroit Lions right now,” the wideout said Tuesday.
Fair enough — but his recent Twitter activity has still left some a bit baffled. When he was asked about a specific tweet he sent out this weekend that featured three emoji with their mouths zipped shut, Robinson said with a laugh: “I actually was replying to someone’s tweet. It was a sub tweet. It had nothing to do with that [his potential contract extension].”
Fair enough, even though the tweet was not in itself a direct reply to anything. Still, Robinson also hinted in a different, since-deleted tweet that the Bears had not offered him anything at all contract-wise, and he has made no secret about his desire to finish his career in Chicago. Thus, Robinson has said all he can say about it at this point. The ball is in Pace’s court — but the longer the Bears GM stalls, the higher the wide receiver market will climb.
With Keenan Allen’s four-year, $80 million deal and DeAndre Hopkins’ new two-year, $54.5 million extension with the Cardinals, Robinson’s price just went up. And the longer Pace waits, the higher it could go.
ARob Tweeted & deleted this response just now. STILL NO CONTRACT OFFER??? WHAT ARE THE #BEARS DOING????
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