USA Today
No Bears Talks for Allen Robinson II Yet No Surprise
The Allen Robinson standoff isn't quite what it seems.
If it is, then the Bears have some real explaining to do.
In an appearance on ESPN AM-1000's Carmen and Jurko show, Robinson made it clear he hasn't been in any type of contract negotiation with the Bears.
To be clear, Robinson has a contract for this season. It's 2021 which is at issue.
"They haven't. We haven't heard nothing," Robinson told Carmen and Jurko. "I think just as far as me and my agent, from the conversations that we've had, we're not necessarily anticipating hearing anything at this point.
"For us, we're going into camp preparing ourselves to have a good year. If that comes up and they reach out to my agent, I'm sure they'll have pretty good discussions and things like that, but again, that hasn't happened yet. Maybe it will happen. I can't predict the future, so I don't know if that will happen at all. For myself, with this being my second time going into a contract year, I know how to mentally prepare myself and I know how to block all that out."
Doing a contract extension at a time when the league doesn't really know what the ramifications will be from the pandemic in relation to league revenues isn't good business, anyway.
The Bears need to at least have an idea how the league is planning to deal with the coronavirus and it's impact on the salary cap. It can make a difference in how they want to structure a deal.
This is a situation sure to be rectified at some point this preseason.
The Bears have made it a habit of doing their contract extensions when they know how much money they will have available.
Cody Whitehair's contract extension came after preseason ended last year and the Bears were getting ready for the regular season.
Charles Leno Jr. had his contract extension in late August. Bobby Massie's was in August.
Considering the economic situation of the NFL at the moment in relation to the coronavirus, it's only normal for the Bears not to be initiating a contract extension for now.
The salary cap may drop drastically next year without fans at games.
According to a NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the owners want to cut each team's cap amount by $40 million in 2020. Teams also would take a big hit to the cap in 2021.
These drop could keep the Bears from even bringing Robinson back next year, depending on the size of his contract or if they cut someone else with a big salary.
The NFLPA wants the decrease in revenue to be absorbed over a longer period of time and in smaller amounts.
Regardless of how it's solved, neither way can be good for getting a contract extension done immediately for any player, including Robinson.
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