The Los Angeles Chargers have dealt WR Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears while receiving a 2024 fourth-round draft pick.
VIEW FREE AGENCY TRACKER HERE:
CHICAGO, ILL.– The Los Angeles Chargers have traded longtime wide receiver Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick. Allen has been a premier member of the Chargers since his inception into the league in 2013.
While Chicago has been a hotspot full of speculation due to the questions surrounding quarterback Justin Fields, and the possibility of the team dealing him and opting to draft the top QB in the draft Caleb Williams instead, the team has decided to go out and get whatever quarterback the help they need.
Allen has been one of the best receivers in the league for over a decade, consistently putting up good numbers in return for a mismatched team and coaching troubles. However, the Chargers’ contract with Allen left the team set to cough up $34.7 million towards the cap. The move seemed out of the blue when the team ditched WR2 Mike Williams just a day ago, yet Los Angeles decided to release both. Allen, who will turn 32 in April, is entering the final season of a four-year, $80 million contract with a base salary of $18.1 million.
Keenan Allen is also coming off one the best seasons of his career, one where he made the Pro Bowl for the sixth time in his career. Allen caught 108 balls for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns. His heavy cap hit was a huge reason for his trade, as the team seems to be entering a rebuilding period and on to a new chapter of its history.
Allen will pair greatly with whatever quarterback ends up the main man in Chicago this coming season, and as a team with a decent upward outlook, Allen’s veteran presence will fare well amongst a receiving corps that lost Darnell Mooney in free agency to the Atlanta Falcons. DJ Moore on the other side will also play wonders for the new, refreshed offense that the Bears are building. DeAndre Swift in the backfield will also give Fields or (presumably) Williams enough confidence to succeed.
“We don’t have a lot of depth there, first of all,” Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus said last month about the depth of the receivers. “That’s the first part. Adding some dynamic pieces there through free agency or through the draft potentially, so to me when you’re trying to defend that, when you have a weapon at tight end and you have a weapon at the X receiver like DJ. When you add a piece or two to the other side, it really balances you out. It’s hard to defend for sure.”
