He comes a season in which he did wind up missing four games, and still wound up putting up a career number. Wide receiver Keenan Allen totaled a personal-best 108 catches. His 1,243 yards and seven scores were also the second-highest totals of his career. All of those numbers led the Los Angeles Chargers.
Now the six-time Pro Bowler is now a member of the Chicago Bears, after the Chargers, under a new regime of general manager Joe Hortiz and head coach Jim Harbaugh, traded him. The Bears are a team that actually finished with a better win-loss record (7-10) than the Bolts (5-12) this past season.
This offseason, the Bears sent a fourth-round pick to the Chargers for Allen. He joins DJ Moore, who totaled 96 catches for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023, as well as rookie Rome Odunze and veteran tight end Gerald Everett, the latter was a free-agent pickup from the Bolts. That’s quite an array of weapons for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Could Allen, who becomes a free agent in 2025, wind up remaining with the organization beyond this season?
“I’m going to play as long as I can,” explained the 11-year veteran – courtesy of Patrick Finley (via NFL.com) of the Chicago Sun-Times. “As far as an extension, I’m going to let the play speak for itself, and if they offer me something that I like, we’ll go from there.”
Allen, the second-leading pass-catcher in the history of the Chargers (904), could become an invaluable mentor to Odunze as well. More significantly, the Bears’ passing attack has been a liability for far too long. In 51 games dating back to 2021, Chicago has a combined 54 touchdowns through the air.
There may be some concerns about the 32-year-old pass-catcher. Allen missed seven games in 2022 and four contests this past season. Still, you can’t ignore the production of a wideout that’s totaled 100-plus catches in five of the past seven years.
The Bears front office, led by Ryan Poles, ensured that Williams would not go through the hardships on offense like Justin Fields did by trading for Allen and drafting Odunze. On paper, the Bears offense should produce just fine.
Even though he is under contract for just the 2024 season, Allen left the door open to potentially sign a contract.
