Pro Football Rumors
In 2024, Keenan Allen spent one season as a member of the Bears. That has proved to be his only campaign playing for a team other than the Chargers, with a new Bolts deal having been worked out last year.
Allen is a candidate to remain with the Chargers. With training camps not far away, though, he is still unsigned. It remains to be seen how willing the 34-year-old will be when it comes to weighing alternative options on the open market.
During an appearance on the John Keim Report, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler noted (video link) Allen was specifically linked to a desire for a return to the West Coast in 2025. That helped him work out a return to the Chargers, but a different situation may now be in play. Per Fowler, Allen has not been connected to the same preference to only play out west with respect to his 2026 free agency.
Of course, that does not guarantee a new deal with the Bolts or a team in a similar location will not eventually be worked out. Compared to last year, however, Allen could be open to a pact sending him elsewhere. Outside of his lone season in Chicago, the 34-year-old has played exclusively with the Chargers (both in San Diego and Los Angeles). Depending on the nature of Allen’s free agent market, he could be on the move soon.
As Fowler noted, finances will obviously be a central factor in Allen’s case – like those of the other notable veterans still on the market at this point. The six-time Pro Bowler has played on two separate eight-figure-per-year deals in his career, although his 2025 Chargers return came about on a pact worth $3.02MM. A similar contract could be in store this time around.
Allen is joined by the likes of Stefon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins and Deebo Samuel in free agency as things stand. That situation should change relatively soon, but if Allen is open to destinations beyond the West Coast his market in particular could be worth watching closely.
