(RADIO.COM Sports) Though he had hinted multiple times that the franchise tag wasn't the preferred course of action in his career plans, Bears receiver Allen Robinson was ultimately slapped with the tag before the deadline Tuesday. It means that the Bears will bring back their best offensive player for one year — for now — and extends the window for a long-term contract to be reached until July 15 after negotiations previously stalled.
Just minutes after the news broke Tuesday, Robinson sat down to record a podcast with Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin. So Robinson delivered his candid reaction to listeners, who heard what he had to say when "The Michael Irvin Podcast" was released 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 his team every day and performs at an extremely high level — the stats and the eye test are both obvious indications of that — and those qualities along with his continued improvement should garner 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 believes a long-term deal is the fairest option. For one, he shared a clip of his appearance on "The Collinsworth Podcast" on Pro Football Focus, where he talked about how 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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