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Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell on Allen Robinson's departure: 'It was difficult'

Instead of re-signing with Jacksonville, Robinson decided to take his talents to Chicago and join the Bears organization.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The most notable absence from Thursday's free-agent press conference was former Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson.

Instead of re-signing with Jacksonville, Robinson decided to take his talents to Chicago and join the Bears organization in free agency.

The Jaguars received heavy criticism for deciding not to use the franchise tag on the 24-year-old playmaker. That choice allowed Robinson to test the free-agent market and ultimately leave the Jaguars.

THE EVOLUTION OF ALLEN ROBINSON: PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 / PART 4 / PART 5

The nearly $16 million allocated for the franchise tag was too high of a price for Jacksonville. He ended up signing a three-year, $42 million deal with the Bears.

Clearly, the $14 million annual salary was also too high for the Jaguars.

"I think for us, as you guys know, we set a price per player and what we feel like is acceptable and what we can handle and we'll go to that level," Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said during the introductory press conference.

"Once we go to that level, we have to say 'hey, this is as far as we can go.' If that's not good enough for a player then they move on."

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The Jaguars invested heavily in Robinson during his four-year tenure in Jacksonville. It was tough for the organization to let him go.

Still, the front office had its price and Robinson had a financial benchmark of his own.

"It was difficult," Caldwell said.

"Obviously, we have a connection with [Robinson]. We drafted him here. We saw him kinda grow into the player he was - and unfortunately, if it wasn't for some circumstances - we tried to put our best foot forward and get him back here and it didn't work out. Obviously, I wish him the best but once that happens, we go through Plan B and Plan C."

The Jaguars always planned to bring back wide receiver Marqise Lee. He signed a four-year deal on Thursday. He will partner with newly signed wide receiver Donte Moncrief as the Jaguars look to improve their passing game.

"Marqise was always in the plans from the beginning," Caldwell said. "But it was [about] who was going to be the other guy and then Donte was next on our list."

Robinson wasn't the only notable absence from the press conference. Cornerback Aaron Colvin agreed to terms with the Houston Texans on Tuesday. However, unlike Robinson, Colvin was very close to returning to Jacksonville.

"It was a little bit different," Caldwell said.

"We were a lot closer with Colvin. The difference is, he chose to go to Houston, which was a difficult decision for him. I talked to him throughout the process and after the process and he called and obviously, that was a very challenging and difficult decision for him. He made the decision based off a lot of different factors."

The Jaguars introduced six new additions during the hour-long press conference at the team facility. Along with Moncrief, Jacksonville has signed guard Andrew Norwell, safety Cody Davis, cornerback D.J. Hayden, tight end Niles Paul and defensive back Don Carey during free agency.

Follow Mike Kaye on Twitter at @Mike_E_Kaye.

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