NFL Trade Rumors
After a 12-year career with the Chargers that cemented him as one of the best receivers in franchise history, Keenan Allen took his services to Chicago last season. He was brought in to provide a stable, veteran presence and reliable target for 2024 first-round QB Caleb Williams, but it didn’t go as planned. Allen totaled the fewest yards and second-fewest catches of his career, outside of a pair of injury-shortened seasons in 2015 and 2016.
Still, his time with the Bears wasn’t a total disaster. He had 70 receptions for 744 yards and seven touchdowns, with a PFF grade of 64.4. That PFF grade ranked 76th among all qualifying wide receivers, painting an accurate picture of the role Allen projects to at this point in his career: a high-floor WR3 that can be a complementary weapon in a team’s passing attack.
While a return to Los Angeles to reunite with the Chargers makes sense on paper, the team has indicated they’re content with the current depth chart. Second-year man Ladd McConkey pairs with second-round rookie Tre Harris and veteran Mike Williams to form the starting trio at wide receiver for the Chargers. If Allen is to play this year, it looks like it’ll need to be elsewhere.
Allen, 33, is a former third-round pick of the Chargers back in 2013. He was entering the final year of his five-year, $46.671 million contract that included $20 million guaranteed when the Chargers signed him to a four-year, $80 million extension.
In March 2024, Allen was traded from the Chargers to the Bears for a 2024 fourth-round pick. He made a base salary of $18,100,000 for the 2024 season.
In 2024, Allen appeared in 15 games for the Bears and caught 70 passes on 121 targets for 744 yards receiving and seven touchdowns.
We have him included in our Top 100 Available NFL Free Agents list.
The top of the Cardinals’ depth chart at receiver is set with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson. Harrison was the No. 4 overall pick in 2024 and while he didn’t quite live up to expectations as a rookie, he still had 885 yards and eight touchdowns last year and projects to be a top option for years to come. Wilson hasn’t fully lived up to his potential yet, but TE Trey McBride is the true second option in this passing attack, if not No. 1.
McBride led the Cardinals in both catches and yards a year ago, and he and Harrison should form the 1A and 1B duo that powers the offense. Greg Dortch is the starting slot receiver in Arizona, and Zay Jones is also on the roster. Allen would be an upgrade over Dortch and provide a high-floor possession receiver to the offense. Harrison, Wilson and McBride are all young players — McBride is the most experienced of the group as he enters his fourth season in the league. Allen’s impact off the field could be just as important as his...
