NFL teams
Jeff Dickerson, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Bears' Allen Robinson expects full recovery by training camp

New Chicago Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson reaffirmed on Thursday that he expects to be medically cleared to play when the team reports to training camp in July.

“I’ll be fully cleared by camp,” Robinson told reporters at Halas Hall.

Chicago’s prized free-agent pickup, Robinson, 24, tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in Jacksonville’s Week 1 opener last season. Robinson’s knee injury, however, did not discourage the Bears from signing the 6-foot-3 wideout to a three-year, $42 million deal on Wednesday.

“So right now I'm getting into my sprints and progression,” Robinson said. “So I'm back doing that, I'm back doing some plyometrics, some pretty explosive jumps and things like that. You know, so I'm getting back in football movements.

“I think that's something that Chicago, since I've been in the process of talking to my agent, that's something [where my rehab stands] that they understood. And again, they understood even from them communicating with my trainers in Jacksonville, where I had just my progression along those lines. So it was something that we were all on the same page with and that was definitely another thing for me throughout the process that was beneficial to me. Again, they understand the circumstances of where I'm coming from. They know the player I am.”

The Bears envision Robinson replicating the numbers he had in Jacksonville in 2015, when he caught 80 passes for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. Chicago’s offense, under the direction of new head coach Matt Nagy, is expected to emphasize the vertical passing attack more than last year, when -- with inferior personnel -- the Bears ran an archaic system around first-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

“[Robinson] is just a big target that knows how to get open,” Bears general manager Ryan Pace said. “He's a savvy route-runner that can set guys up and he's just a proven receiver, you know. He's a physical guy that can body and out-position guys and it's a guy that obviously we targeted and are excited to get here.”

Added Robinson: “For me, watching what Coach Nagy did in Kansas City, you know, I think it has a lot of versatility that I can be used in many different ways in this offense. I'll be able to play inside, outside, have some deep shots, work the short game and things like that. So I think with us just being able to kind of have that versatility for each other, we really can expand each other's games.”

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