Contract extension now ‘out of my concern' for Allen Robinson

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On Tuesday morning, Bears receiver Allen Robinson sent out his latest cryptic tweet: 

It's an expression Robinson's often gone to in the past; he told reporters that it's a creed he's 'lived by' ever since coming into the league back in 2014. 

"I also tweeted something about being fearless," he added. "When you put these things in your head on a regular basis, that's the food that I feed on. Each and every day when I go out here to make a play or as I'm going through my day, all Allen Robinson can do is control what he can. That's being the best player I can be, that's being the best teammate that I can be, that's being the best brother I can be, that's everything. That's how I've been able to maintain myself and continue to get better, each and every day, each and every year in this league." 

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Of course, his explanation did little to stop the speculation surrounding Robinson's contractual status. The Bears star is set to hit free agency after the 2020 season, and will be looking for a contract that materializes his reputation as one of the NFL's most underrated players. Ryan Pace has given out plenty of extensions out during the first two weeks of September, but with that window officially arriving on Tuesday, the two sides (at least publicly) don't seem very close. 

"That's pretty much out of my control," Robinson said. "Again, I can't pinpoint anything like that. Even for me, I've said this before, it's out of my concern. Last time I came in here, we had a month before a game. Now it's 12 days or something like that. My main focus is on Detroit and this year, and I truly mean that. Any contract things change, I don't really have an answer for that." 

There's a certain level of negotiating prowess that needs to be considered in any of Robinson's remarks; the 28-year old receiver is already negotiating his third contract, so this is nothing new to him. But a month ago, he publicly told a Chicago radio station that he and his agent hadn't been talking to the Bears, and it certainly doesn't sound like much conversation has happened since. For now, Robinson's focus is placed squarely on ramping up his workload following a slight ankle injury that caused him to miss a handful of training camp practices. And not for nothing, but Robinson's clearly got his head coach in his corner. 

"I hope so," Matt Nagy said, in response to a question on whether Robinson's in the Bears' long-term plans. "I think he shows what he can do. For us, that’s Ryan and Joey. That’s their world, that’s Allen’s world. We understand there’s a whole process to that. But I know how we all feel, I know how he feels. When you produce the way that he produces and the type of person he is, those are the type of people that you want for a while."

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