Allen Robinson said on Wednesday he planned to end the season with the Chicago Bears, but declined to say whether he or his agent had formally requested a trade.
“Yeah, I would say yes,” Robinson said on the Zoom Chicago media call, when asked if he plans to be with the Bears for the rest of 2020. “… I talked to [general manager] Ryan [Pace], I spoke to Coach [Matt] Nagy. As for everything else, we’re in the clear with that. “
Robinson continued, “I’m not going to get into this [trade] detail, but like I said before, my heart and my mind never wavered, when it comes to the city of Chicago and playing for this organization. Obviously, you dive into the business of the game, and there are different variables that come into play. But how I feel for my teammates, how I feel for this team, how I feel for this city and all that. never wavered. When you’re in this business and in a situation like this, things happen. “
Sources told ESPN’s Dan Graziano on Tuesday that Robinson had informed the Bears that he would prefer to be traded if the two sides cannot reach an agreement on an extension. The Chicago Tribune also reported on Tuesday that Robinson, who is in the final year of his contract, has requested a trade.
Robinson’s agent Brandon Parker denied the report, telling ESPN’s Adam Schefter that neither he nor Robinson asked for a trade, but Parker admitted that Robinson was upset the Bears would not pay him value. Merchant.
Nagy said on Wednesday he had had a private conversation with Robinson about the contract stalemate.
“You know how we ride here, we talk about stuff, so I had a great conversation with Allen, just excited to know where we’re at,” Nagy said on a Zoom call. “He’s a leader, he’s a very important part of our team. [contract] part of it is not my world. … But I think our players all realize the story we have here in regards to taking over guys.
“And I think that was a very, very good conversation that Allen and I had. I think when you have situations like this, it’s just that the two of them can talk. So, I hope, you know, I think he feels really good, and he’s convinced that we want him to be here and he wants to be here. So that’s really the end goal in all of this. “
Robinson, 27, will make $ 13 million in 2020. He recently removed references to the Bears from his social media accounts, but several of Robinson’s teammates have posted on Twitter calling on the team to extend the popular wide receiver. .
“We always support each other 100 percent, all the time, so we’re always behind our teammates,” Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said on a Zoom call. “But I think it’s really simple for us. It might seem like a distraction online or on Twitter or whatever, but we don’t see that in the locker room. We don’t see that on the pitch. .
“Especially with Allen and a lot of the guys we have on offense, you never have to worry about that kind of thing because we are attacking training, and it’s all a team mentality first. know these guys in that locker room, So the way he’s behaved himself and the rest of the guys on offense, it’s professional. They’re trying to improve. I think all that other stuff is going fend for themselves. “
Robinson caught five passes for 74 yards on nine goals in Week 1. Last season, Robinson led the Bears with 98 receptions for 1,147 yards and seven touchdowns, despite playing on one of the worst league offenses. Robinson spent four years at Jacksonville (2014 to 2017), where he earned an invitation to the Pro Bowl after catching 80 passes for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2015.
Robinson suffered a late-season knee injury in Week 1 of 2017, his final year at Jacksonville, and was not fully healthy for the Bears in 2018. Despite that, he recorded 55 receptions for 754 yards. and four touchdowns in 13 games played.
“When we work on these deals, we know how important A-Rob is to us, not just as a player but as a teammate,” Pace said on September 7.
Robinson’s frustration has been compounded by the eruption of contract extensions granted to large receivers over the past month, including DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals, Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers and Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams. .
Hopkins’ new deal is worth the most in terms of average salary ($ 27.25 million) among NFL receivers. Atlanta’s Julio Jones ($ 22 million), Allen ($ 20.025 million) and Amari Cooper of Dallas ($ 20 million) all have deals averaging at least $ 20 million over the life. of their transaction.
Robinson’s expiring three-year contract with Chicago averages $ 14 million per season, 15th in the league for wide receivers.
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