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The Chicago Bears anticipated wide receiver Allen Robinson would need time to assume a role as quarterback Mitchell Trubisky's No. 1 target.

Considering where the Bears passing game was last season Rick Leonard Jersey Saints , they expected this wait to be worthwhile.

Robinson continues to work at a slower, steadier pace through his first live practices since suffering a torn left anterior cruciate ligament, and hopes to reach a point where he and Trubisky click in the passing offense.

"It's all about getting back acclimated, running certain routes, getting the small things in football, as far as actually football 鈥?route-running, sinking my hips, stuff like that," Robinson said Tuesday at Bears training camp. "As far as physically, I feel fine."

Robinson took off Monday's practice to rest his knee after his first full practice participation over camp's first three days. He returned to work Tuesday with no ill effects.

The slow, steady approach isn't keeping Robinson from learning during meetings.

"He's asking great questions," Nagy said. "He sits in the front of the room. He's a little introverted, which is fine. That's what we talk about 鈥?everyone is a little different. But he comes to me probably three to four times a practice and asks me certain questions, so we have a good relationship going there."

Rehab from the injury kept Robinson from doing much in organized team activities and minicamp.

"Man, it's fun," Robinson said. "Being away from the grass for 10-plus months, it feels so good to be back out here running routes Jordan Howard Bears Jersey , competing, going against defenders, everything like that. It's exciting."

Nagy said no receiver has stepped up so far as Trubisky's top target.

"But in a couple weeks I think if you come back and ask me that question there might be somebody that he starts to develop that bond with," Nagy said to reporters.

Nagy sees signs Robinson is a bit tentative on routes requiring a cut inside, and expects the fifth-year receiver to overcome this as the knee continues to strengthen.

"I like where he's at," Nagy said. "Allen is doing everything that we're asking for. There might be a couple routes I think more mentally he's just trying to get over, that it's OK to do that. But that's part of the health part of him.

"Just once you get through that part, then you're ready to go. So we have the time. That's the benefit of having five weeks in the preseason and then we get him ready for Week 1."

Robinson calls his goal a better understanding of the offense rather than simply labeling it a need for receiver and quarterback to build chemistry.

"I think that's a big misused word," Robinson said. "Because at the end of the day you know certain routes and certain things like that, you've got to be in the right place at the right time in a way that matches up with your quarterback."

The Bears last season badly needed a primary target for Trubisky after injuries deprived them of Kevin White and former Bear Cameron Meredith. Chicago finished last in passing yards (2,811) and tied for last in touchdown passes (13).

Despite suffering a season-ending knee injury in Jacksonville's opener, Robinson signed a three-year, $42 million free agent deal with the Bears. In the process, he left a blossoming AFC championship game qualifier for a team out of the playoffs since the 2010 season.

"You know, looking at the (new) coach, offensively scheme-wise, the quarterback Youth Jonathan Cooper Jersey , and things like that, I mean, there's no doubt at all that this team has all the talent in the world to win games," Robinson said.

The talent Robinson brings is being able to stretch defenses and make jump-ball catches. Robinson had 22 touchdown catches in his first three seasons.

"Me being a bigger receiver, I think I'm a versatile receiver," Robinson said. "I think that's something that coach Nagy, as far as his offensive scheme, it's about versatility.

"For me, watching him, the play calls that he had prior to coming here, I knew that's something that was a big part of his offense is versatility. I knew that he would be able to use me in a very effective way."

Even if Trubisky has been targeting receivers such as Kevin White, Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller just as much or more often at camp, the Bears quarterback said he knows how to use the 6-foot-3 Robinson.

"He goes up, gets the football, creates separation," Trubisky said. "He can make those acrobatic catches that we haven't seen here in the past.

"He can separate with speed, he's physical Authentic Joe Mixon Jersey , he runs great routes. He's really a student of the game. That's something I've learned."

Robinson expects to apply what he's learned by making Trubisky's job easier.

"I want Mitch to be able to go out there and just be able to play free," Robinson said.

Tom Brady is losing one of his top receivers, and Jared Goff is getting a speedy new target.

The New England Patriots traded receiver Brandin Cooks to the Rams on Tuesday for Los Angeles’ first-round draft pick, the 23rd overall.

New England also sent a fourth-round choice to the Rams, and the Patriots got a sixth-rounder from Los Angeles.

The 24-year-old Cooks had 65 catches for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns in his only season with the Patriots. His receiving stats were second on the defending AFC champions’ roster only to tight end Rob Gronkowski, who barely topped Cooks in all three categories.

Cooks’ clear chemistry with Brady makes the trade fairly surprising for New England, particularly after the recent departure of another favorite Brady target, Danny Amendola, who signed with the Dolphins.

But the defending NFC West champion Rams made an aggressive offer to secure a potential No. 1 receiver and proven deep threat just three weeks after the departure of Sammy Watkins, who got a three-year, $48 million deal from the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency.

After weeks of rumors about the Rams’ interest in acquiring star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from the New York Giants, they managed to find another elite talent at the position. Cooks’ speed and versatility should fit in well in coach Sean McVay’s schemes as he lines up alongside Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp in the NFL’s highest-scoring offense last season.

The trade also appears to be a strategic move on the part of the Patriots: Cooks is entering the fifth year of his rookie contract, and he can become a free agent after the 2018 season.

With three 1,000-yard seasons in a four-year pro career that began with New Orleans, Cooks would likely be a coveted player after another big year, and the Patriots may not have been willing to pay a high price to keep him and may be looking to get maximum value now.

Watkins was in the same contractual situation when the Rams acquired him from Buffalo during training camp last year Authentic Customized Saints Jerseys , and he parlayed a solid season in Los Angeles into an enormous contract elsewhere. Yet the Rams don’t appear to regret the trade, even though Watkins was their fourth-leading receiver with 39 catches, because he excelled in the red zone with eight TD grabs and provided a deep threat that had to be respected by opponents.

Cooks will be asked to do all that and more with the Rams, who haven’t let up on their intense offseason pursuit of a championship roster.

The Rams acquired elite cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib last month, and they signed defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh last week to form a ferocious duo with AP Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. Los Angeles has lost leading tackler Alec Ogletree and top cornerback Trumaine Johnson during its machinations, yet kept its entire offensive line intact for Goff and running back Todd Gurley.

With the draft picks acquired in Tuesday’s deal, New England now holds four picks in the first two rounds later this month and four more picks in Rounds 3-7. That gives coach Bill Belichick the ability to go shopping for a young prospect or perhaps to make a deal for a veteran.

Still, there’s also the possibility that the Patriots may do nothing at all at receiver heading into training camp.

Julian Edelman is expected to return after suffering a preseason knee injury, and Malcolm Mitchell is also slated to return after spending time on injured reserve with a knee issue.

Cooks was New Orleans’ first-round selection out of Oregon State in 2014, and he played three solid seasons for the Saints while emerging as a top young receiver.

Yet when the competitive receiver apparently disagreed with the Saints about the height of his abilities and his long-term future, he was traded to New England 13 months ago for a first-rounder and other picks.

Although Cooks is one year away from free agency, the Rams probably feel they’ve got a better chance to do a long-term deal with Cooks. Cooks and Goff are represented by the same agent, and Cooks is a Stockton, California, native whose family will be able to see him play regularly.

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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

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