Getty Will the Bears trade WR Allen Robinson?
With the NFL’s trade deadline coming up on November 2, there are a few names that keep popping up for the Chicago Bears as possible trade chips. One is top wideout Allen Robinson.
Robinson hasn’t quite developed the solid chemistry with rookie quarterback Justin Fields many hoped he would. A-Rob has just 23 catches for 250 yards and a touchdown this season — he has had 40+ catches and 500+ yards at this point in the season each of the last two years with the Bears — and many are wondering if he wouldn’t flourish elsewhere.
There are plenty of WR-needy teams, and the Bears are more likely to face plant this season than they are to make a playoff run. Why not get some draft capital while they can for a potentially valuable asset like Robinson with the goal of starting to build around Fields? One prominent Bears insider thinks they should, and he revealed what the team’s selling price for the talented wideout would likely be.
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Adam Jahns: A 2nd Rounder for A-Rob Could Do It
Robinson has started 50 games for the Bears since he arrived in 2018, catching 278 passes for 3,401 yards and 18 touchdowns. He and the team failed to reach an agreement on a long-term extension, with talks souring in September of 2020. Things never really got better, as the Bears slapped the franchise tag on him this year. If Chicago doesn’t trade him, he’ll be able to test the market as a free agent in 2022. If the Bears do decide to shop him, one reporter close to the team thinks he knows what it’ll take to make them sellers.
Bears insider Adam Jahns of The Athletic believes Chicago would ship A-Rob off to an interested team for a second-round pick:
Trading Robinson would be a long-term move with short-term implications. He’s the Bears’ No. 1 receiver, but his numbers don’t show it. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields has a better connection with second-year receiver Darnell Mooney. The Bears have to build around Fields. The issue with Robinson is whether a long-term contract can be worked out. It didn’t happen this year, and Robinson, who signed his contract after receiving the franchise tag, wasn’t happy about it. The free-agent market awaits Robinson after this season. The compensatory pick formula matters here, too. A second-round pick might just do it for the Bears.
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Jahns is Right — This Would Be a Long-Term Move
Trading Robinson wouldn’t impact the team’s season much, particularly if it were to lose its upcoming Week 8 contest against the San Francisco 49ers. The Bears need to build around the future of their franchise, and that means attaining draft picks. Chicago only has picks in Rounds 2, 3 and 6 next year (they could be getting more comp picks), but the team really should be sellers at the deadline if at all possible.
Per NFL.com, “To qualify for compensatory picks, teams must end up with more or better qualifying free agents lost than gained in a particular year.” Shipping Robinson off could help with that.
We’ll know soon enough what Bears GM Ryan Pace has planned, but it wouldn’t hurt him to at least gauge interest in a trade for A-Rob.
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