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Should Allen Robinson return?


Heinz D.

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It's a legitimate question.

I think most of us (myself included) assume he's gone. Maybe Ryan Poles thinks that would be a mistake. We have no idea.

What we do know is that Robinson is mentally weak. He needs his own, personal, situation to be just so for him to perform well on the field. 

Flip side of that is the Bears can provide that piece of mind...and Robinson is still close to his "prime", years-wise. 

He's a quality guy, if he's focused, and happy. Makes it a hard decision. 

Thoughts? 

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Given how Nagy treated him you can understand a little better why it all went wrong last season...if he is focused and still not asking for a ridiculous $20 million a year then I would resign him...in a scheme that is more WCO he has the size & skills to excel and is better than any other FA receiver not named Adams...

Now the big question is can Flus & Poles convince him that things will be different now and make him want to stay.

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17 minutes ago, Heinz D. said:

What we do know is that Robinson is mentally weak. He needs his own, personal, situation to be just so for him to perform well on the field. 

I personally think that’s a pretty big assumption. Robinson was a guy clearly the most talented at his position playing in a contract year who was seemingly largely not a part of the game plan for reasons that were never explained and certainly didn’t make sense then or now. I posted the other day in a different thread that he never had more than 7 targets in any game after week 1 regardless of QB, and only had as many as 7 just once. That’s absurd, and felt that way in real time too. 

Being fair, who wouldn’t have been pissed in his shoes? Not getting the #1 WR level of targets of which he had clearly shown to be worthy the prior 2 years very likely cost him tens of millions in guaranteed dollars this offseason. Being upset about that doesn’t make him mentally weak IMO - it makes him human.

That aside, if Getsy, Flus and Poles agree that ARob can be a key piece in what they want to build on offense over the next several years it would make a ton of sense for them to sit down with Robinson and his people over the next month and talk about their plan for how they’d use him. If he’s interested then try to work something out financially. If not then shake hands and wish him the best. I suggested the other day the Kenny Golladay contract as a guide (< $5M year 1 cap hit). 

Like MM said there isn’t a more talented healthy WR available in FA unless Adams gets there (which I still don’t expect to happen). Mooney and Robinson in the fold before FA hits, especially at a Golladay year 1 type cap hit for Robinson, would go a long way in setting us up for a successful offseason. 

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I think the issue is really does Arob fit JF?  The answer might be no.  JF does not really throw 50/50 balls.  He throws to the open target.  That's part of why Mooney had the jump he had this year.  Mooney gets open, Mooney creates separation.  Let's not forget Fields is not a guy who generally throws a lot of picks.  In college he made plays throwing to guys who got open.  Arob is a great 50/50 player, but he is not going to routinely get open.  He is going to win even tho he is covered.

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1 hour ago, AZBearsFan said:

I personally think that’s a pretty big assumption.

We not only have last season as evidence...we have the prior season, as well. 

Regardless, if you get him squared away, contractually, it seems like the problem would be solved.

So then, it becomes a question if the money involved is worth it to retain Robinson. 

1 hour ago, AZBearsFan said:

Being fair, who wouldn’t have been pissed in his shoes? Not getting the #1 WR level of targets of which he had clearly shown to be worthy the prior 2 years very likely cost him tens of millions in guaranteed dollars this offseason. Being upset about that doesn’t make him mentally weak IMO - it makes him human.

He had every right to be upset. I'm on the record as saying Pace made a horrible mistake by refusing to deal with the Robinson situation--either with an extension, or by trading him away. 

But yes, being so upset about your contract situation that it causes you to have a horribly subpar season DOES make you mentally weak, by football player standards. How many players can you cite that had terrible seasons because they were under the franchise tag? 

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4 minutes ago, Superman(DH23) said:

I think the issue is really does Arob fit JF?  The answer might be no.  JF does not really throw 50/50 balls.  He throws to the open target.  That's part of why Mooney had the jump he had this year.  Mooney gets open, Mooney creates separation.  Let's not forget Fields is not a guy who generally throws a lot of picks.  In college he made plays throwing to guys who got open.  Arob is a great 50/50 player, but he is not going to routinely get open.  He is going to win even tho he is covered.

And, Fields should end up being a very accurate quarterback...which marginalizes Robinson's contested catch ability all the more. 

You make a good point there, and one which I hadn't really mulled over before. Still...Robinson is pretty versatile. And became a bigger part of the offense the better Fields became. I'm leaning more towards hoping we keep Robinson, but understanding that the money may not be doable. But to be fair, we don't even know how other teams value him...he might be worth a lot less on the open market than we're all assuming. 

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He phoned it in this season, I don't want him back for $10million, let alone whatever stupid $20million price tag he thinks he's worth.

I mean I can't really blame him for being upset with getting tagged twice, and constantly being stuck with either bum QBs or terrible offenses, but you need players who are going to buy in and have each other's backs. Robinson has proven he ain't that guy.

I think it's probably best for both parties with a fresh start.

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6 hours ago, Heinz D. said:

But yes, being so upset about your contract situation that it causes you to have a horribly subpar season DOES make you mentally weak, by football player standards. How many players can you cite that had terrible seasons because they were under the franchise tag? 

We disagree about why he had a bad season. You think it was because he was pissed about the contract situation. I think it’s because they gameplanned him into being a relative non-factor week in and week out. Both things or neither thing may ultimately be true but there’s no way for us to be sure.

But, the fact that there was unquestionably a huge drop in production last year and there were definitely examples (mostly at or near the end of the year) of him seemingly going through the motions at times is really the crux of the issue, right? Poles and the coaches will need to decide whether they think 2021 was an aberration based on circumstances since removed, or if they’d rather go with a different player who will probably come with his own different questions. I’d personally try to bring him back over a TBD player, but not without outs in that deal no later than after year 2, and maybe after year 1 because of how 2021 played out for him. But, if the team goes the other way or if ARob doesn’t want to be back despite the complete front office and coaching staff turnover I’ll 100% understand that too. 

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6 hours ago, Heinz D. said:

And, Fields should end up being a very accurate quarterback...which marginalizes Robinson's contested catch ability all the more. 

You make a good point there, and one which I hadn't really mulled over before. Still...Robinson is pretty versatile. And became a bigger part of the offense the better Fields became. I'm leaning more towards hoping we keep Robinson, but understanding that the money may not be doable. But to be fair, we don't even know how other teams value him...he might be worth a lot less on the open market than we're all assuming. 

Agreed on his market value, especially coming off last year. You’re right though - he’s versatile in his skill set. He is really good in contested catch situations, but he’s not just a contested catch guy like Alshon Jeffery was. He’s not a burner, but he can win with speed and separation too. 

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Really likable player with big time skills who recovered from a big injury here, but it would take some real chemistry between player/agent/front office to make him want to stay here, even at value equivalent to open market.  Can you imagine saying to a player "Your market value is lower than you think, because of the awful season you had HERE, so please sign here again for less than you expected?"

I would rate the chances of him staying on less than 20/y as less than the chances of Jordan Love being good. 

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