Earlier today, it didn’t seem as if Allen Robinson was in any hurry to sign the Franchise Tag tender.
Time changes things, I guess:
#Bears WR Allen Robinson has officially accepted his franchise tag, source said, locking in his $18M.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 19, 2021
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport tweets that Robinson is accepting his Franchise Tag tender. This puts his 2021 salary at a cool $18 million. Considering how underwhelming the market has been for paying receivers, securing the bag — albeit for a one-year deal — isn’t the worst idea for Robinson.
Even still … it’s weird. Robinson had plenty of leverage in his pocket by leaving that tender untouched. He could have chosen to skip out on offseason training activities, made a case for side-stepping training camp, and shown up for practices before Week 1 of the regular season. It’s a path Le’Veon Bell carved out most recently with the Steelers. I suppose Robinson could still wield that leverage, but it might not have the same weight behind it had he decided not to sign the tender.
Or, perhaps Robinson is signing the tender in hopes he can be traded soon – his friend Akiem Hicks was given permission to seek a trade tonight, reported after the team cut Kyle Fuller for cap space. Robinson, who’s as online as they come, could see the firestorm at Halas Hall as an opportunity to leverage signing the tag into a trade to a preferred destination.
Or perhaps (x3) Allen Robinson saw that the Bears met with free agent wide receiver Kenny Golladay today and got spooked. After all, the Bears *could have* rescinded the Franchise Tag if they’d done so before Robinson signed – say, if they managed to ink Golladay, who, himself may be itching to sign soon given the weak wide receiver market.
At this point, all we know is that chaos is reigning supreme.