Allen Robinson reports to Bears minicamp despite yearlong contract impasse, focusing on his game instead of the franchise tag

CHICAGO — With less than one month to go before the deadline for the Chicago Bears and Allen Robinson to agree to a long-term contract, the wide receiver didn’t offer any indication Wednesday that progress has been made toward a deal.

If it stays that way, Robinson would have to play out the season on the $17.88 million franchise tag, which the Bears exercised in March. The deadline for a long-term deal is July 15.

“I don’t have any updates or nothing like that,” Robinson said. “At the end of the day, it’s out of my control. … Right now, I’m just focusing on things I can control — coming back, being the best player I can be, trying to help the offense continue to improve.”

Robinson spoke to the media before the second day of mandatory minicamp at Halas Hall. He skipped voluntary organized team activities earlier this month, saying he wanted to focus on his individual training.

He said he chose to attend minicamp because he didn’t want to set himself back in any way or forfeit more money. The Bears could have fined him more than $93,000 if he missed the three-day camp. Robinson said he also plans to show up to training camp on time.

Bears coach Matt Nagy said it didn’t surprise anyone at Halas Hall that Robinson showed up to the minicamp because, as Bears coaches have often repeated during his three years in Chicago, he’s an “absolute pro.”

“And I think that he understands that in sports in general, he’s not the only one who goes through these types of situations,” Nagy said. “It shows what kind of teammate he is and what the game means to him. We know that. We understand that. … He’s just a really good person who cares a lot about winning, and we appreciate that.”

Robinson said he is trying to concentrate on his own improvement as he waits to see if the Bears and his negotiating team can break a nearly yearlong financial impasse.

He has 255 catches for 3,151 yards and 17 touchdowns over three seasons with the Bears, including a career-high 102 catches for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns in 2020.

Robinson has been working at training centers in New York and Florida with other NFL veterans and studying film from last season so he can address several areas of his game as he enters his eighth year in the league.

He would like to improve after the catch and has been working on “creating more muscle endurance so when I’m catching the ball, I’m able to hold my speed longer.” He had 12.3 yards per catch and 3.6 yards after the catch per reception in 2020, the latter stat better than only Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett among the 18 receivers who topped 1,000 yards, according to the NFL’s NextGen Stats.

Robinson said building muscle endurance also extends to his upper body, “so once we get late into the season, late into games, I’m still able to be strong and make those plays.”

Among other items on his to-do list is improving his production in the red zone.

“Being able to make sure I’m not only homing in on the physical standpoint, but just homing in on what opponents are trying to do to us in the red zone and how I can be better and how I can assist my team more in the red zone when we do get down there,” he said.

Nagy said they could see the effort Robinson has put in this offseason when he showed up Tuesday to work with new quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Justin Fields for the first time.

“Anytime you have that quality of player that shows back up and gets out here in the huddle and just that experience that he brings, (it’s good),” Nagy said. “He just has such a quiet calm and confidence to him that you can see the guys out there throwing him the football and the things he’s doing, he just slides on in.

“The one sneaky thing about A-Rob that I think is pretty cool is, No. 1, even if he’s not here, you know he’s working his tail off, and No. 2, he’s always in great shape, and we noticed that today.”

The Bears have expressed such appreciation for Robinson for years, but that hasn’t helped them get on the same page for a long-term deal.

That means Robinson might have to play out another contract year, a scenario that allows him to try to earn his desired contract elsewhere but also carries the risk of injury.

“Obviously it’s a possibility,” Robinson said of playing on the franchise tag. “That’s fine. It is what it is. Like I said before, my main focus right now is continuing to get better.”