Allen Robinson is a locker room leader and a good football player. A model citizen off the field. He’s also not afraid to speak up publicly or on social media. It’s common knowledge at this point that the Chicago Bears receiver is due for a contract extension. He sits in the final year of his current deal signed back in 2018. After going over 1,100 yards last season, most feel he’s done plenty to earn a pay raise.
Yet with six days remaining before the opener in Detroit, the noise out of Halas Hall has been deathly silent. Robinson, for his part, fed into the narrative by stating on more than one occasion the team had yet to reach out to him about discussing a new deal. This predictably enraged many Bears fans, wondering what possible reason the team could have for the delay.
Both GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy have said the team loves Robinson and hope to have him around for a long time. The silence on this contract though flies in the face of those words.
Then the receiver decided to add to the confusion. On Monday morning, he put out two rather unusual posts on Twitter. Clearly he is trying to send a message. The problem is there is no way to determine what it is.
— Allen Robinson II (@AllenRobinson) September 7, 2020
Never trip cause the goal bigger
— Allen Robinson II (@AllenRobinson) September 7, 2020
There are a couple of ways to take that. The emojis used from the zippered faces to the checkered flag could indicate an extension is finally done. Or the Bears told him talks will be tabled until a later date and he’s choosing not to open his mouth about it. He’ll just use it as more motivation to attack defenses in 2020 and show yet again he’s a true #1 receiver.
The only explanation that makes sense for the Bears postponing talks is the uncertainty around the 2021 salary cap. This team isn’t swimming in future cash and predictions are no fans at games could cause as much as a $23 million drop in the cap. If they sign Robinson to a massive extension, it could drastically decrease their flexibility to keep the roster together next year.
Then again, teams always find a way around cap issues. Pace, for all his faults, is notorious for that. Hopefully he’ll do the right thing.
