Allen Robinson and Bears heading towards a standoff over the franchise tag

Allen Robinson has not been thrilled with the Chicago Bears, and the two sides are now headed for a standoff over the franchise tag.

In the absence of a long-term deal that has never seemed to be coming, the Chicago Bears unsurprising franchise tagged wide receiver Allen Robinson last week. Even before that decision was made, the idea of a tag and trade to send Robinson elsewhere was out there. But that works under the assumption Robinson would sign the tag quickly, if only to facilitate that move.

During an appearance on SportsCenter Sunday morning, via Bleacher Report, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said Robinson has “zero plans” to sign the franchise tag in the “immediate future”.

"Allen Robinson, I’m told, has zero plans to sign his franchise tag in the immediate future. So considering their contract negotiations in the fall did not go well, this could drag out a long while where Robinson doesn’t show up, doesn’t sign that tag. Because when they talked in the past, the Bears made clear they have no plans to give him that top dollar at wide receiver. You know, that $20 million range that the best players now get."

Bears: How long could Allen Robinson drag things out?

Since he wouldn’t be under contract to the Bears until he signs the tender, Robinson would be under no obligation to show up to anything since he wouldn’t be risking fines — offseason work, whatever that looks like and presumably with a new quarterback, all the way to training camp and preseason games. In the meantime, that tag price ($17.98 million) is accounted for on the Bears’ balance sheet.

As long as Robinson waits to sign the franchise tender, the Bears will find themselves in an increasingly tougher spot. Rescinding the franchise tag rarely happens, and it most notably happened in 2016 when the Carolina Panthers rescinded the tag on cornerback Josh Norman. He hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent then, eventually signing with Washington. For a timeframe reference, the Panthers rescinded Norman’s tag on April 20.

Robinson has continually expressed frustration over contract negotiations with the Bears, and he had expressed a general lack of affinity for the franchise tag. Then the Bears tagged him. The tag can be a device to create exclusive time to get a multi-year deal done, but there’s been no traction on a multi-year deal between Robinson and the Bears.

If a trade possibility is brought to Robinson, he may sign the franchise tag very quickly. Otherwise, this could be a long standoff. The card the Bears hold is the franchise tag, or the timing of rescinding the tag if it were to get to that point. Otherwise, Robinson holds a lot of cards.