The Los Angeles Chargers dropped a bomb this week when they announced they were trading Keenan Allen to the Bears for draft compensation.
Allen had an incredible 11 years for the Chargers where he had 10,530 receiving yards and 59 touchdowns, but LA was up against the salary cap and forced to make some difficult decisions.
The deal came out of nowhere, but according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, two other teams were working to acquire Allen first, as the Jets had a conversation with the Chargers, but the Texans were close to getting a deal done as well.
From what I understand, the conversation with the Jets was just a conversation, no serious offers made. The Texans were close to landing Allen in Houston to play with CJ Stroud. In the end, Bears made best offer to Chargers. https://t.co/e9gorTvHdH
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 16, 2024
Allen would’ve been a clear upgrade for both teams, as the Jets lack any sort of reliable receiving help for Aaron Rodgers outside of Garrett Wilson, and the Texans have a young group of talented receivers but lack a consistent veteran contributor for Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud.
Allen is coming off a career year with LA, posting a career-high 108 catches despite missing four games, to go along with 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns.
The veteran slots in alongside star receiver D.J. Moore in Chicago, which suddenly has an impressive receiving corps to help out potential No. 1 pick in quarterback Caleb Williams.
Allen’s technical skill set projects to complement Moore’s explosiveness very well, and Chicago had more than enough cap space to make the pairing worthwhile.
Even after bringing in Allen along with all their other free-agency moves, the Bears still have $35 million in cap space left.
It seemed like Allen was staying in LA after the Chargers cut Mike Williams, but he will now finish out his contract in Chicago along with his $23.1 million cap hit.
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