The Los Angeles Chargers made major headlines this week and shocked the NFL world by trading 11-year veteran Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears.
The Chargers were in the league’s most unenvious salary cap situation and had to make some tough decisions, but many thought cutting fellow receiver Mike Williams would have been enough to get to a reasonable spot with the cap.
However, that was not the case and Allen was also shipped out after turning down a pay-cut request, to which he said, “I’m not doing it. I’m not doing it. It was my best season.”
Keenan Allen says it wasn't an "emotional decision" to turn down the Chargers pay-cut request.
"I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. It was my best season."
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) March 16, 2024
2023 was indeed Allen’s best season, as he put up a career-high 108 receptions in just 13 games to go along with 1,243 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Allen is heading into the final year of the 4-year, $80.1 million extension he signed in 2020 and has a $23.1 million cap hit for 2024.
Allen said it was not an “emotional decision” to turn down the request, as after 11 years and over 10,000 receiving yards, he has earned the right to play out the full value of his contract especially coming off such a strong year.
It worked out for him, as he landed with a team with a ton of cap space and the No. 1 pick in the draft to use on star QB prospect Caleb Williams.
Allen turns 32 next month and suddenly has a lot to prove as he will likely be playing with a rookie quarterback in a cold-weather city on a contract year looking for one more big deal on the open market.
NEXT: 2 Teams Were In Conversations To Land Keenan Allen Before Bears