Report: Allen Robinson requested trade

Update 9/15: With smoke, there’s usually fire and the recent shakeup of Allen Robinson’s social media allegiances appears to also come with a trade request, per Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs. Robinson requested a trade, which likely means the two sides aren’t close on a contract extension.

The Bears star wide receiver Allen Robinson has done some recent remodeling to his social media accounts. He removed “Chicago Bears” from his bios and deleted Bears related photos on the Instagram. We can file this under contract negotiations, rather than imminent trade, but there’s no doubt he’s wanting a bit more cash in his bag.

Robinson is in the final year of his three-year contract and it appears he would like an extension. He’s not going to hold out in the middle of the season, but his grumbling in public will get the front office to at least take notice. Back in July, Robinson was asked if the team had contacted him about an extension and told ESPN 1000 “They haven’t. We haven’t heard nothing. 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.”

We don’t know if anything has happened since then or if the lack of communication finally got to Robinson, but he is unhappy. The Bears are 1-0, but the team has plenty of holes and one of those has been Robinson’s quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky. If they end up needing a new quarterback once again next offseason, the team could end up trading Robinson before then to avoid paying up or losing him in free agency.

Robinson is a Top 10 wide receiver talent and many would consider him Top 5. He deserves his money, but the Bears might not be the team best suited to pay him, as they could end up going into a rebuild and acquiring and developing their younger, cheaper receivers.

Any team in the NFL could use Robinson of course, but if he were to be traded this season, it would be to a team looking to contend for a Super Bowl. The Patriots are always brought up in these situations and if they are in position to make a playoff run this year, there’s no doubt they’d be interested. New England has the second-most available cap space and the two teams have worked together in the past. The Patriots have also made trades for receivers in the past, with Brandin Cooks and Mohamed Sanu most recently. Robinson is better than either, and would cost more to keep around, but the Patriots are in dire need of a receiver.

Unfortunately, Robinson would be a half-season rental for whatever a trade partner is willing to give up for him, which means they aren’t getting a number one pick. It will come down to money and team needs moving forward, but there’s a real possibility that Robinson isn’t on the Bears next season and maybe even this season.