Though he had hinted multiple times that the franchise tag wasn't the preferred course of action in his career plans, Allen Robinson was ultimately slapped with the tag before the deadline on Tuesday. It means that the Bears bring back their highly talented receiver for one year — for now — and temporarily stalls any makings of a long-term agreement between the two sides, prolonging a struggle that obviously hasn't resulted in a deal to this point.
Robinson was sitting down to record a podcast with Michael Irvin just minutes after the news dropped, and he delivered his candid reaction to listeners, who were able to hear what he had to say when "The Michael Irvin Podcast" was released on Thursday morning.
"I actually just heard it," Robinson said, referring to the news that the Bears had tagged him. "My thought is, it's a tough situation. I hope that with being tagged, it still helps, by me being under the tag, to be able to get a long-term contract."
Robinson echoed previous sentiments that he puts himself on the line for this team every day and performs at an extremely high level — the stats and the eye test are both obvious indications of this — and these qualities, along with his clear improvement, should grant him a long-term deal.
"Ever since my third year in the league, each and every year, I've continued to get better, and I definitely can say now that that's not gonna stop... I'm only getting better each and every year," Robinson said.
Robinson's social media activity also indicates that he thinks a long-term deal is the fairest option. For one, he shared a clip of his appearance on PFF's "The Collinsworth Podcast" where he talked about he could probably get a long-term deal with 31 other teams, though the Bears are evidently not one of them right now.
Robinson also liked a series of tweets that openly roasted the franchise tag.
So here's what we know: the Bears franchise tagged Robinson, and Robinson doesn't seem thrilled. Here's what we don't know: what's next?
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