Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles met with the media at the NFL scouting combine on March 1 and addressed a number of issues surrounding the team.
Some of the biggest questions Poles fielded were concerning two of Chicago’s best offensive players over the last four years: gadget back and All-Pro punt returner Tarik Cohen and wide receiver Allen Robinson.
Cohen carries a $5.75 million cap hit in 2022, per Spotrac, and he has appeared in just three games over the last two years after tearing his ACL Week 3 of the 2020 season. His health and status with the team have been under the microscope for months, and Poles was asked about the running back’s health for the first time.
The new Bears GM was also questioned about the team’s relationship with free agent Robinson, who expressed frustrations with the organization and former head coach Matt Nagy after the team’s season ended in January. Poles gave telling responses.
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Poles Wouldn’t ‘Get Into the Medical’ Aspect of Cohen’s Status
When asked about Cohen’s future, Poles noted Bears head athletic trainer Andre Tucker’s assessment would carry a lot of weight.
“It just comes down to that communication and conversations with … Andre Tucker’s one of the best in the league and we’re just going to have those conversations to see where everything stands and make the best decision we can make at that time,” Poles said at the combine on March 1.
When asked if Cohen was currently healthy, Poles refused to delve into details.
“Um, you know, I don’t really want to get into the medical piece of individual players, but we’ll just take it a day at a time to figure out where he’s at for us.”
It was a telling non-response from Poles, because if Cohen were healthy or his knee was back to normal, he certainly wouldn’t be hiding that information deliberately.
Bears GM Ryan Poles won’t say whether RB Tarik Cohen is healthy at the moment, which pretty much answers the question.
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Poles Won’t Rule Out Reunion With Robinson
Poles was also asked about Robinson, who was the team’s most targeted wideout in 2019 and 2020 before seeing his production and role in Nagy’s offense plummet last season. He went from getting targeted over 150 times in each of his 2019-20 campaigns before getting thrown to just 66 times all of last season.
Allen Robinson was not part of the Bears gameplan this season 😬
Robinson took to Twitter to note this huge drop in targets, as well:
@MaxMarkhamNFL 154…151…66
Despite A-Rob’s clear annoyance with the former regime, Poles thinks he and new head coach Matt Eberflus could start a the team’s relationship with the 28-year-old wideout anew. “It’s communication, it’s establishing that things are going to be a little bit different. That’s a tough one to answer specifically. I think it’s more of a fresh start for everyone. I think through our moves and the staff we’ve put together, I think it shows that,” said Poles.
Is it safe to assume the wideout won’t be back in 2022? “I’m not there right now, so we’re just going to keep working through that,” Poles added.
Poles also talked up Robinson’s fellow wideout Darnell Mooney, calling the third-year WR a “bright spot” on the team’s roster.
Perhaps Poles wants to see if it’s possible to salvage a relationship with the disgruntled wideout, or maybe he doesn’t want to comment concretely on Robinson’s future just yet. The new Bears GM also wouldn’t rule out using the franchise tag on A-Rob for the second year in a row, although that’s highly unlikely, as the projected salary for tagged wide receivers is $18.5 million, according to Spotrac.
Ryan Poles wouldn’t answer whether the #Bears would consider tagging Allen Robinson a second time.
Either way, the futures of both Robinson and Cohen are looking bleak in Chicago, but according to Poles, there’s still a chance to repair things, at least where A-Rob is concerned.
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Bears GM Has Telling Comments on Tarik Cohen & Allen Robinson