Former All-Pro Veteran Receiver Lands with the Chargers

Following an offseason acquisition by the Chicago Bears, former Charger and All-Pro receiver Keenan Allen had a very average season on his new team. The former six-time Pro Bowler was traded in a blockbuster deal to Chicago last year in a blockbuster deal with the idea of helping rookie phenom Caleb Williams in terms of a star target. While Allen had his moments, the star receiver had by far his lowest catches besides his limited 2022 campaign since 2016. While the Bears had other options, a drop in almost 50 yards per game compared to his rejuvenated season in 2023. While he still played 15 out of 18 games, he didn’t really seem happy in Chicago and didn’t even seem to have a mentoring impact on Rome Odunze from the fans’ perspective. From being near the best receiver for fans who liked a catch-centered receiver, to being half the player he was in the prior year, even getting taken out of snaps isn’t what any fan expected.

Keenan’s last contract ranged at a high of four years, 80 million dollars, with 43 of that being guaranteed. While it was unlikely he would get near the same, it was reported today by Adam Schefter that the former Pro Bowler has signed a contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, which completes the reunion between the two sides, where Allen spent his first 11 NFL seasons. Allen showed the Chargers last year that he still has the talent, even with his deflated stats, and will be a key piece for Los Angeles going into next season. The 11-year NFL vet has eclipsed the thousand-yard mark six times in his career, including a near-recent 1,243-yard season back in 2023. After a season of helping Williams’ rookie campaign, it will be interesting to see how Keenan does with the Chargers next year. Every season Allen has been healthy, he’s delivered at a top-ten level, so it will be interesting to see what version of him we get.

With only five playoff games in Allen’s career, that will be his main goal going into next year. Plus, assuming Allen is in shape, the Chargers should be getting one of the best when-motivated receivers in the past couple of years. Nobody has been as reliable besides Mike Evans. As a result, we shouldn’t be surprised if that's the version we get in 2025.