The Los Angeles Chargers continued to show they feel the offense was the problem for the team in 2023 by making a shocking blockbuster deal on Thursday night that will send team great Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears for a surprising return.
The rumblings over the last few weeks were that the new regime of general manager Joe Horitz and head coach Jim Harbaugh wanted to overhaul the roster but they were stuck in cap hell. They needed to slash a whole bunch of payroll and expensive cornerstones like Mike Williams, Joey Bosa, Keenan Allen, and Khalil Mack were likely to be the players they cut ties with.
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On Wednesday the Chargers freed up cap space by making the rumors a reality and released former seventh overall pick Mike Williams. On Friday, they continued that bold strategy to slash payroll when they shocked the NFL world by shipping off six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears.
- Keenan Allen stats (2023): 108 catches, 1,243 receiving yards, 7 touchdowns, 11.5 yards per catch
Yet, despite Allen still being an elite receiver and again earning Pro Bowl honors this past season, the Bears only had to fork over a fourth-round pick in 2024. It is a surprising return just a couple of years removed from an offseason where the Packers and Chiefs got massive returns in trades for Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill, respectively.
- Keenan Allen contract: 4 years, $80.1 million ($43 million guaranteed)
What makes the unexpected trade all the more surprising is it shows the regime prefers to rebuild the offense and chose to do some salary cap wizardry and restructure the contracts of Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa so that both could return in 2024.
It will be interesting to see if the Chargers use the fifth overall pick in April’s draft to find Keenan Allen’s replacement or use it on a veteran still left in free agency.
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