Jaguars Were Prepared To Franchise Allen Robinson (ACL) Next Year

According to former GM Michael Lombardi, the Jaguars were prepared to use their franchise tag on WR Allen Robinson after this year and even told teams around the league of their intentions to do so.

Unfortunately, Allen suffered what’s likely to be a season-ending ACL tear during Sunday’s win over the Jaguars, which means he would be looking at a nine-month recovery.

Allen is in the final year of his rookie contract, so an injury like this couldn’t come at a worse time in his career. Hopefully, Allen’s representatives have helped him get an insurance policy to offset any losses he would incur in terms of financial compensation next year.

The Jaguars will now have an interesting call to make with Robinson, as it seems unlikely that they would still use the franchise tag on Robinson. They could try to hammer out an incentive-based deal or allow him to test the open market and see what kind of market there is for him before drawing up an offer.

Either way, it’s a really disappointing season for a young player who has earned an extension.

Jacksonville will likely place him on injured reserve in the coming days.

Robinson, 23, is a former second-round pick by the Jaguars in the 2014 NFL Draft. He is entering the final year of a four-year, $3.510 million rookie contract and is set to make a base salary of $898,755 this season.

In 2017, Robinson appeared in one game and caught one pass for 17 yards and no touchdowns.