Allen Robinson Could Be Next

Players more and more in the NFL are speaking out to demand a trade or force movement, and in an article Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson called this a possibility if he is hit with a franchise tag.

Allen Robinson could become part of the trend of NFL players requesting a trade if he is tagged as a franchise player by the Bears.

In an article for the publication Go Long, Robinson expressed this thought. 

"It's definitely and option," Robinson said in the article when asked if he might ask for the trade if tagged.

The thought of a tag-and-trade was suggested in several reports last week in relation to Robinson but from the standpoint of the team wanting to do this in order to get something back in exchange for him, which might help land a quarterback.  

For now, Robinson hasn't given up hope of returning to Chicago with a deal even though the team and his agent haven't talked since early last season.

"My personal opinion, if something could possibly work? Yes," Robinson told Tyler Dunne of Go Long. "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."

Robinson has 3,151 receiving yards in three seasons. He is 15th on the all-time Bears receiver list but only 1,909 behind franchise receiving yards leader Johnny Morris.

Robinson told Dunne he remains in love with the city of Chicago and appreciates how his foundation has been embraced by the community.

"With all that being said, unfortunately we've come to what seems to be a fork in the road," Robinson said. "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."

Fans often seem to resent players making salary demands but Robinson points out this is simply his right to seek a better situation. 

Players view the franchise tag is a restrictive situation.

"It would be like if I told somebody, 'You are qualified for this job. And this is what the other people at that job are making. But you can’t make that,' " Robinson said. "Nobody in America would even do that. You see people go from job to job on an everyday basis in America. They get a job, they fill out another resume because, now, they have the experience. They go from company to company to company, at the same time, increasing their salaries.

"But for players, when you get in that situation where you’re even up for a contract, it’s almost a lose-lose between the fans and—for a lot of players, not just myself—even the organization and teammates. The narrative of the story is so muddied up for no reason at all, when players just want what their value is."

The writer of the article brought up the topic of how Robinson requested a trade early last season after the season opener, and said Robinson decided to make this request when he couldn't "shake the idea of catching passes from multiple quarterbacks and playing for multiple playcallers yet again."

Robinson last year had both Matt Nagy and Bill Lazor calling plays. He has chased down passes from Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles and Blake Bortles but hasn't had the benefit of playing with a quarterback ranked among the top tier of the league. 

"All these different things, I tried to look at it and say, ‘If we can’t get a deal done, this hill for me to climb to be able to perform at my best? It may be even a little greater than I thought it was,' " Robinson said in the article. "That's when it came about. If we are going to have to play on a contract year, is this the best situation to be able to show our value and bring our value to the table?

"It's like… Do you guys even need our services?" 

When this reported trade request occurred, it was immediately refuted by Robinson's agent Brandon Parker, but apparently it did happen.

The article by Dunne also provides some perspective on the entire contract situation from Parker.

The Bears can apply the franchise or transition player tag to Robinson on Feb. 23. They have until March 9 to do it. Free agency begins March 17 but the free agent "legal tampering period" begins March 15.

The website for this publication is offering fans a chance to be with Robinson in a Zoom "happy hour" on Friday night, Feb. 19, with a purchased subscription.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven