Allen Robinson Open To Returning To Bears, But Says They Haven’t Given Him ‘Viable Option’

Allen Robinson tells Tyler Dunne of Go Long that he’s open to returning to the Bears, but the team hasn’t given him a “viable option” to continue his career in Chicago. 

“My personal opinion, if something could possibly work? Yes,” Robinson said. “I’m not opposed to being back in Chicago by any means. I’ve even expressed that over the last couple of years — wanting to be the all-time leading receiver in Chicago which, I believe, I’m under 2,000 yards away from that. With all that being said, unfortunately we’ve come to what seems to be a fork in the road. But not even a fork. We haven’t even been given a viable option to be able to do those things that we want to do without sacrificing a ridiculous amount pretty much for the rest of my career.”

“My personal opinion, if something could possibly work? Yes,” he added.“I’m not opposed to being back in Chicago by any means. I’ve even expressed that over the last couple of years — wanting to be the all-time leading receiver in Chicago which, I believe, I’m under 2,000 yards away from that. With all that being said, unfortunately we’ve come to what seems to be a fork in the road. But not even a fork. We haven’t even been given a viable option to be able to do those things that we want to do without sacrificing a ridiculous amount pretty much for the rest of my career.”

Earlier in the week, Tom Pelissero reported that the Bears and Robinson haven’t had any talks about a long-term deal since September. 

Pelissero says that brings the franchise tag into the equation as a course of action for the Bears and Robinson. The two sides could then pick negotiations back up, Robinson could play out 2021 on the tag, or Chicago could even look to execute a trade after tagging Robinson. 

The two sides have been at a contractual impasse since the beginning of last season when there were rumors of Robinson wanting a trade to a team that would be willing to pay him what he thinks he’s worth. 

The market for receivers has increased to around $19-$20 million per year. The tag for Robinson in 2021 would be around $18 million. 

Robinson, 27, is a former second-round pick by the Jaguars back in 2014. He played out the final year of a four-year, $3.510 million rookie contract before agreeing to a three-year, $42 million contract with roughly $25 million guaranteed with the Bears back in 2018. 

Robinson is entering the final year of his contract and stands to make a base salary of $10,900,000 for the 2020 season. 

Robinson caught five passes for 74 yards in Sunday’s season-opening win against the Lions. 

In 2020, Robinson has appeared in three games for the Bears and caught 18 passes for 230 yards receiving and one touchdown.

We have Robinson listed in our Top 50 2021 NFL Free Agents list.