I've made my feelings pretty clear where I think the Bears free agent money should go and where I think it shouldn't go, but what will the Chicago Bears do? With free agency just hours away, no one seems to have a sense which direction Bears GM Phil Emery will actually go. While he's a long time scout and director of scouting, this will the first time he's been tasked with making "The" call. Everyone can agree wide receiver is a definite need, and he'll likely pluck at least one guy from free agency. But which one?
My best guess is on a guy he has some familiarity with, Laurent Robinson. He was drafted in the 3rd round by the Falcons when Emery was working in Atlanta, so don't be surprised if Robinson is part of the Chicago Bears revamped 2012 receiving corps.
Laurent Robinson has a past that reminds me of former Bear Devin Aromashodu. Both are 6'2" and both spent time with multiple teams before having their breakout season. Granted Robinson's breakout was more than the 4 games from D.A. in 2008, but it's still a small sample size. Last season Robinson appeared in 14 games for the Cowboys, with 4 starts. His 54 receptions for 858 yards and 11 touchdowns were all career highs. But unlike the Extrapolation Sensation, Robinson has more NFL game time logged, and the gaps in his resume could be explained because of injury.
As a rookie he had 6 starts and saw time in 15 games, but in year two his playing time fell because of some injuries and due to a crowded receivers group in Atlanta. The Rams thought enough of his skills to have him included in a draft day trade, and he started the 1st three games in 2009 for St. Louis before a broken leg landed him on the injured reserve. In 2010 he had 10 starts in 14 games, but was cut after the season.
Last year he was signed and cut by the Chargers and signed and cut by the Cowboys, before being re-signed by Dallas after some injuries to their wide outs. He was the 3rd WR for the Cowboys much of the year, but in his 4 starts he had 21 receptions for 302 yards and 5 TDs. Extrapolate that.
For more on the Bears potential free agent moves be sure to check out Sam's B-Team post and cast your vote in Kev's free agency poll. And by all means, stay tuned to Windy City Gridiron as we'll have our Free Agency Open Thread rocking later this afternoon.