Are Chicago Bears still front-runners to sign Allen Robinson?
Despite all the conflicting reports, we can confidently believe that Ryan Pace and the Chicago Bears are still in great position to land Allen Robinson.
I suppose we should’ve known better to expect immediate fireworks from the Chicago Bears, or really any other team, just moments after the legal tampering period opened at 11 a.m. CT this morning.
Teams still need to reach out to prospective free agents. All the necessary gamesmanship between agents and organizations still has to happen. Fans need chances to lose their minds over the course of the day.
I think most of us are squarely in that boat.
One thing seems relatively certain, though: the Chicago Bears are going to be big players for Allen Robinson, the top wide receiver on the free agent market.
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In fact, they might be the biggest player in the game as it stands right now.
Robinson, who has all but shut the door on a return to Jacksonville, said earlier today in an interview with Sirius FM that he would be interested in both Chicago and San Francisco for similar reasons.
They have young quarterbacks in Mitch Trubisky and Jimmy Garappolo, respectively. They have interesting, innovative offensive coordinators. And their teams as a whole seem to be trending upwards toward being winners.
But even if Robinson were especially interested in San Francisco, they might not be able to pay him as much as he’d like.
Taking a look at #49ers situation, I don’t believe they will be big players for WR Allen Robinson or any big-priced WR on the free-agent market. With Pierre Garçon and Marquise Goodwin already making good money, best option probably is to look to the draft and develop someone.
— Matt Maiocco (Threads @maiocconbcs) (@MaioccoNBCS) March 12, 2018
With Marquise Goodwin and Richard Sherman both signing new contracts with the 49ers, John Lynch might not want to overspend for another high-priced receiver.
As such, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a threshold that he won’t want to go over per year (say, $11-12 million). If that’s the case, the Chicago Bears far and away have the upper hand.
And what about those pesky Green Bay Packers trying to get Aaron Rodgers a new weapon? Well, if they want to do that, they need to move some cash around.
Right now, the Packers only have an estimated $17 million in cap space. They could sign Robinson, but they couldn’t sign anyone else. And things could end up getting tight over the next few years if they didn’t restructure contracts or cut players.
Everything I continue to hear is that the #Bears will be hot & heavy after WR Allen Robinson if he hits the market. Also doesn't sound like money will be a factor in their decision.
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) March 12, 2018
Stiff competition ahead but I don't see Pace being outbid.
Bottom line: the Chicago Bears may stand alone as the only team that can/will comfortably throw down $13-15 million for Robinson without batting an eye. And that’s a huge deal.
In the end, all things being equal, players want to get paid. And if the Bears show Robinson the money, they’re more than likely going to sign him. San Francisco isn’t necessarily that good to where everyone’s just going to take pay cuts to play there.
At least we hope.
Next: Pre-free agency, Post-Combine Bears mock draft
Anyway, until the free agent period goes on, we won’t know if any of this comes true yet.
Just keep in mind throughout all the posturing that goes on that the Chicago Bears are still in prime position to land Robinson.