Allen Robinson has repeatedly said that everything is on the table regarding his future in Chicago or elsewhere.
Last week in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, the Bears receiver said there was an ‘open line of communication’ with the club, but noted that parties had not spoken ‘for some time’.
The time is apparently months.
Tom Pelissero, NFL Network, reported Tuesday NFL NOW that there have been no talks since September about extending the long-term contract between the Bears and Robinson.
“It definitely looks like the (franchise) label is coming into play,” Pelissero noted. “Whether it’s the Bears trying to do an expansion, whether it’s Robinson playing on the label, or even a brand-and-trade scenario.”
Robinson has produced 1147 yards and 1,250 yards in Chicago over the past two years, respectively, with 13 total TDs. He did it despite bad QB play.
Last season, Robinson produced 1,250 of the Bears’ 3,925 total passing yards, more than 31 percent. It’s not a hyperbole to suggest that the Bears’ offense would have been the worst in the league the past three seasons without Robinson.
A reliable weapon that can open against any cover, can win on the outside or over the middle and is a burden for corners in the red zone, deserves a salary increase. He has not yet received one in Chicago.
“At this point, I would be pretty open to everything on the table,” Robinson said. SiriusXM NFL Radio last Thursday. “I’m not 100 percent sure what’s going to happen in the next few weeks as a free agent and stuff like that, but as everything stands today, I’ll definitely open up to everything on the table.”
The franchise label window opens on February 23 and runs through March 9. Unless expansion talks are progressing rapidly with Robinson, he is a candidate to be slapped with the label before the window closes.