The San Francisco 49ers are expected to target Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson when he becomes a free agent on March 14, according to multiple sources including our own Al Sacco.
I've seen it floating around elsewhere, and take it for what it's worth at this point, but I've also been told #49ers are expected to target Allen Robinson if/when he becomes available. No idea on money or anything like that, just that SF is very interested.
— Al Sacco (@AlSacco49) March 6, 2018
Vincent Frank of Sportsnaut is also hearing that the 49ers plan to make a strong push for Robinson. The Jaguars declined to use the franchise tag on Robinson, which would have cost the team nearly $16 million. Frank also believes SMU receiver Courtland Sutton could be in play for the 49ers at the ninth-overall pick or by trading down, should they fail to sign Robinson.
The 49ers entered Tuesday with $66.3 million in salary cap space following the news that NFL teams' caps are set at $177.2 million for 2018. San Francisco has the fifth-most available money among NFL teams, according to OverTheCap.com.
Spotrac.com estimates Robinson's market value to be in the range of about $13.6 million per year with a five-year deal coming out to just over $68 million. However, Frank believes Robinson could net top-three wide receiver money from the 49ers as a free agent. At the moment, the third-highest paid receiver is Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys, who has an annual salary of $16.5 million.
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Robinson is scheduled to become one of the top free agents available at the start of the new league year. He played in one game in 2017, which was Jacksonville's season opener against the Houston Texans, and had just one catch for 17 yards before tearing his ACL.
Robinson's last full season was in 2016 when he caught 73 passes for 883 yards and six touchdowns. His best season came in 2015 when he had 80 catches for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. During his first three NFL seasons, Robinson caught 201 passes for 2,831 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Robinson, who played college football at Penn State, was a second-round draft pick by the Jaguars in 2014 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2015.
The 49ers currently have wide receivers Pierre Garçon and Marquise Goodwin slated as starters. Garçon's 2017 season ended early due to a neck injury, and Goodwin had a breakout year in place of Garçon.
The 49ers have already been called front-runners for Los Angeles Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who is also scheduled to hit the open market.