Huge day for four former Penn State pass catchers in NFL

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Not just one, two or three, but four former Penn State pass catchers were in the news Tuesday, including three really big stories and one potential comeback story.

Here's a breakdown of the big day:

ALLEN ROBINSON

He's had an impressive pro career, and now he will be hitting the open market as a free agent. The Chicago Bears opted not to put the franchise tag on Robinson, thereby making him a free agent.

Robinson is sure to draw a lot of interest from other teams, even though he didn't have a great season in 2021.

The 28-year-old caught only 38 passes four 410 yards and one TD for the Bears this past season. He caught a career-high 102 passes for 1,250 yards and six TDs in 2020, and 98 passes 1,147 yards and seven TDs in 2019.

In 2015 for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Robinson set career highs in yards (1,400) and TDs (14) while catching 80 passes.

He has been one of the most sure-handed receivers in the NFL for several years.

This is good info on Robinson and his situation with the Bears from NBC Sports:

The Bears initially signed Robinson to a three-year, $42 million deal in 2018. It was one of the best free agent signings in Ryan Pace’s career, as Robinson caught 255 passes for 3,151 yards and 17 touchdowns over those three seasons. But Robinson and the Bears couldn’t come to an agreement on a new deal after 2020, so Robinson played under the tag in 2021, earning $17.8 million for the year. Robinson made it clear throughout the offseason that he did not want to play under the tag, and he ended up having one of the worst seasons of his career. He was limited to 38 catches for 410 yards and one score in 12 games. All of those figures were new career lows, discounting the 2017 season when Robinson tore his ACL in Week 1.

CHRIS GODWIN

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried to sign the receiver to a long-term contract before Monday's deadline, but since they couldn't work out the particulars, Godwin had the franchise tag placed on him by the organization.

He will make $19.8 million next season, according to published reports. This is the second year in a row that Godwin, 26, will carry the franchise tag. Here's a breakdown of his salary, from ESPN:

Godwin is being tagged for the second straight year, which is why he's not receiving the standard $18.419 million for the receiver position. He was tagged for $15.98 million last year, and NFL rules mandate that a player tagged for the second consecutive year receives a 120% bump of his salary from the previous year.

Godwin set a career high with 98 catches for the Bucs this season, despite playing in just 14 games. He suffered a season-ending ACL injury in week 15. He finished with 1,103 yards receiving and five TDs. He helped the Bucs win the Super Bowl two seasons ago, catching 65 passes for 840 yards and seven TDs.

MIKE GESICKI

The tight end had the franchise tag placed on him by the Miami Dolphins, which would slot him in at $10,931,000 in salary for 2022, according to ESPN.

Gesicki and the Dolphins have until July 15 to reach a long-term contract, or else he will have to play under the franchise tag. He would have been an unrestricted free agent without the tag.

Gesicki, 26, caught 73 passesfor 780 yards and two TDs for the Dolphins last season. He has emerged as one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the NFL, and he regularly makes highlight-reel catches, such as this gem below:

DAESEAN HAMILTON

The Denver Broncos released the receiver, who missed the 2021 season with an ACL injury. He now will become a free agent, and there should be good interest in his services, as long as he proves he's fully healthy.

In his three NFL seasons, the 26-year-old Hamilton has caught 30, 28 and 23 passes for the Broncos, for a total of 833 yards and five TDs.