Keenan Allen Traded to the Chicago Bears
The Los Angeles Chargers approached wide receiver Keenan Allen about a possible pay cut. When he declined, the team decided it would be best to trade the 31-year-old receiver. Los Angeles traded Allen to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round pick. Chicago now holds four picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, two in the first round, one being the first overall pick, and the other being the ninth overall pick. Allen reunites with wide receiver coach Chris Beatty who was the wide receiver coach with the Chargers from 2021-2023. With the moves the Bears have made this offseason, they look like they can be a top team in the NFC North and could quite possibly win the division.
This offseason, the Bears have signed running back D’Andre Swift, and tight-end Gerald Everett. These two players, plus receiver D.J. Moore and Allen will spontaneously boost this team’s offense, and we could see a huge difference between Chicago’s 2023 and 2024 offense. Bears quarterback Justin Fields now has the opportunity to really have a team behind him and compete in a tough NFC North division. Last season, in 13 games played Keenan had 108 receptions for 1,243 yards. He also caught seven touchdown passes.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles said, "We're extremely excited to add Keenan to our team. His body of work speaks for itself, and we look forward to him elevating our offense. Last month Bears coach Matthew Eberflus said this about adding some pieces to their offense, “We don't have a lot of depth there, first of all, that's the first part. Adding some dynamic pieces there through free agency or through the draft potentially, so to me when you're trying to defend that, when you have a weapon at tight end, and you have a weapon at the X receiver like DJ. When you add a piece or two to the other side, it really balances you out. It's hard to defend for sure." How many games will the Bears win next season? Can they win the division?
