Jacksonville Jaguars: Allen Robinson decision quickly approaching

The Jacksonville Jaguars must decide by March 6 whether to designate Allen Robinson with the franchise tag.

Tuesday, March 6’s deadline is rapidly approaching for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Wide receiver Allen Robinson, who is coming off of a torn ACL, becomes a free agent on March 14. Instead of losing Robinson, Jacksonville could tag him with the franchise designation.

As each team gathered for the annual NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Doug Marrone was asked about the status of Robinson.

Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com offered Marrone’s statement:

"“Allen was obviously a very good player for us,” Marrone said. “We have options right now with the tag that are out there.”"

Dave Caldwell, at the Combine, added his thoughts, per O’Halloran:

"“It’s over $16 million,” Caldwell said. “That’s a lot of money and it would prohibit us from doing some things and helping the team around him.”"

As a result, Jacksonville must decide whether to keep him or let him walk. The price of tagging Robinson is, as Caldwell said, $16 million. If not tagged, will Robinson want more money? Is Robinson worth the big money contract?

Robinson has 202 receptions for 2848 yards with 22 touchdowns, in his career. He is averaging 14.1 yards per reception, which moves the chains. He has a career reception percentage of 52.6.

The best season for Robinson was 2015. He caught 80 passes for 1,400 yards with 14 touchdowns. In 2016, his production declined and was injured last season. Should he be franchised based upon his 2015 season?

Blake Bortles was blamed for the disastrous regression in 2016. Maybe Robinson’s numbers reflect that regression. Due to his early season ending injury, there is nothing but speculation on how his 2017 season would have played out.

Spotrac.com estimated Robinson’s market value. His market value is $68 million for five years. His annual salary would be $13.6 million. Will he demand such a contract while coming off an injury?

First of all, the receiving corps is not as deep as you may think. Because of injuries, the Jaguars had five receiver on the roster. Five receivers were on the injured reserve list as the season ended.

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Robinson will attract offers from other teams, if Jacksonville decides not to tag him. He would certainly sign with the highest bidder. Since he was sideline for last season’s playoff run, perhaps the Jaguars will move away from him.