The Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams just got deeper at wide receiver. Joining Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp and possibly three-time Pro Bowler Odell Beckham Jr., is wide receiver Allen Robinson of Detroit, Michigan, who the Rams signed on Thursday to a three-year deal worth $46.5 million according to the Canadian Press. The reason why Beckham Jr. is possible at the moment is because he is still a free agent, and the Rams are still hoping to re-sign him too.
The Rams become Robinson’s third National Football League team. He previously spent four seasons each with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2014 to 2017), and Chicago Bears (2018 to 2021). This past season in Chicago, Robinson had 38 catches for 410 yards and one touchdown. He missed five games due to coronavirus and a hamstring injury according to Nick Simon of draftkings.com.
The Rams are banking on the hope that they will get the Robinson who led the NFL with 14 touchdown catches in 2015. He achieved that mark with the Jaguars in the year he was selected to the Pro Bowl.
One might wonder why the Rams signed a wide receiver to a huge contract when he could not reach 500 receiving yards in 2021. Don’t forget the quarterback play in Chicago is not even on the same galaxy as it is in Los Angeles at the moment.
Robinson is one of four elite wide receivers that have changed teams in free agency to date. He joins Russell Gage of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Christian Kirk of Scottsdale, Arizona, and D.J. Chark of Alexandria, Louisiana. Gage signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a three-year deal worth $30 million, Kirk signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars to a four-year deal worth $72 million, and D.J. Chark signed with the Detroit Lions to a one-year deal worth $10 million.
Gage had 66 catches for 770 yards and four touchdowns this past season with the Atlanta Falcons. Chark, who was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2019 after having a career-high 1008 yards, only played four games in 2021 (seven catches, 152 yards, two touchdowns), with the Jaguars because of a broken ankle. Kirk meanwhile had a breakout season in Arizona in 2021 as he had career highs in catches (77), and receiving yards (982), to go along with five receiving touchdowns.
