Report: Chicago Bears place franchise tag on WR Allen Robinson

The Chicago Bears will use their franchise tag on wide receiver Allen Robinson for the 2021 NFL season, according to Adam Schefter. Robinson was set to hit free agency after the completion of a three-year deal he signed with the team in 2018. Since the 2018 season, Robinson has racked up the fifth-most targets among any wide receiver in the NFL, accounting for nearly 24% of the team’s total target share in that span.

Robinson is set to make $18 million in the 2021 NFL season playing under the franchise tag with the league’s official cap total at $182.5 million. It’s worth noting that the Bears are still able to (and likely to) trade Robinson, now that he’s officially been tagged. Reports in February noted that the two sides hadn’t discussed the veteran wideout’s contract since September of 2020.

NFL teams were able to start tagging players starting on Tuesday, February 23rd with a deadline of March 9th. Teams can still sign a tagged player to a long-term deal up until July 15th. Players would rather get long-term deals instead of a single-season franchise tag that gives them a one-year contract, but they do get a reasonable sum of money. Unfortunately, that payday doesn’t come with much long-term security.

This season the salary cap will take a hit due to COVID-19 and lost revenue. The franchise tag money won’t grow as usual, but it will still top out with quarterbacks getting around $24.8 million, defensive ends would come in next at $15.8 million, then all the way down to $9.5 million for tight ends and $4.4 million of kickers and punters.