At 24 years old, Allen Robinson has just scratched the surface of his NFL playing career. Unfortunately, it appears he will not continue to show his talents in a Jacksonville Jaguars uniform. The team that drafted Robinson in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, has announced it has not placed the franchise tag on the former Pro Bowl wide receiver.
If Jacksonville and Robinson cannot come to some agreement within the next six days, the former Penn State star will become a free agent. Given the lack of stars at the position on the open market, many teams figure to make a run at signing him.
The announcement was made by the team on Tuesday afternoon.
The decision not to tag Robinson means the Jaguars could lose their top playmaker from 2015-16. While the team did win 10 regular season games without him last season due to an ACL injury, his presence on the field would help quarterback Blake Bortles and an offense that lacked a big-play pass catcher.
The Jaguars must also decide if they want to extend Marqise Lee, the other second-round pick from 2014, and if the team wants to renegotiate Allen Hurns’ contract.
“Robinson could stand to earn a pretty substantial contract on the open market with the salary cap jumping another $10 million in 2018.,” writes Will Brinson of CBS Sports.
“From the Jaguars’ perspective, this won’t sit well with fans, who would prefer the team use the $16 million in cap space on a one-year deal with Robinson. But it’s likely the team believes the combination of Allen Hurns (recently extended), Dede Westbrook (emerged during 2017, also 24 years old) and Keenan Cole (748 yards last season, also 24) gives them enough cheap talent at the position to let Robinson walk. There is a lot of money already tied up in the defense and it would cost $16 million in salary cap space that would keep them from making moves in free agency.”
Robinson figures to be high on many teams’ lists in free agency. Cleveland, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore, Carolina, Washington and the New York Jets all have a need at the position. The Redskins and the Ravens figure to be the biggest player in the Robinson sweepstakes.
Robinson has 202 catches for 2,848 yards and 22 touchdowns in 43 games. He is coming off a torn left ACL suffered on the third offensive play of the 2017 season opener at Houston.