Thursday night saw quite the shockwave in the NFL world.
In a late stunner, the Los Angeles Chargers dealt away Keenan Allen, one of the NFL’s most consistent and electric receivers, to the Chicago Bears. For Los Angeles, it’s a deal about clearing the financial books in preparation for a brighter future. For Chicago, it’s about presumably giving a rookie quarterback a full cupboard of competent, if not game-breaking, weapons at the start of his career.
Needless to say, this Allen trade will have a significant ripple effect on the dynamics of the NFC North, AFC West, and perhaps both the AFC and NFC on the whole in the long term.
Let’s hand out some grades and see who came out on top in this trade.
The details
AP Photo/Jeff Bottari
According to Fox NFL Sunday’s Jay Glazer, here’s what both teams received in the Allen trade:
The Bears get:
- WR Keenan Allen
The Chargers get:
- A 2024 fourth-round draft pick
Chicago Bears
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
I take back (almost) everything I’ve said.
After slowly dipping their toes into the water, the Bears entered free agency with a plan to prudently surround their presumable young quarterback of the future with the best possible supporting cast. While D’Andre Swift, Gerald Everett, and Coleman Shelton are all fine additions on that front, they all pale in comparison to adding a perennial Pro Bowl No. 1 receiver like Allen. And for just a fourth-round pick!
Allen will now pair up with D.J. Moore and inarguably form one of the finer 1-2 receiver duos in the NFL. Both are so good, so consistent, and so proficient that there probably won’t be a clear hierarchy. Chicago hasn’t had this great of a receiver duo since Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, and Moore and Allen together are probably better. To have not one but two walking matchup problems on the outside is a dream come true for a potential rookie quarterback. There might have been a healthier and stronger situation for a No. 1 overall selection in the past, but I doubt it.
Trading for Allen will justifiably give the Bears win-now expectations and a world of pressure on that seeming new quarterback from a desperate Chicago fanbase. That’s what happens when you trade for a 31-year-old, six-time Pro Bowl receiver with a $34.7 million cap hit in 2024. It’s also what happens when you learn your main lesson from the Justin Fields era: It’s better to help the young quarterback comfortably float above water from the jump so they can build good habits.
What they don’t tell you is it’s also a lot easier to perform under pressure when every single important piece is in place.
Grade: A
Los Angeles Chargers
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Chargers had no choice.
Already backed up against the salary cap wall, Los Angeles simply had to make some moves in the first offseason of the Jim Harbaugh era. After releasing Mike Williams and restructuring Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa’s contracts, the final piece of the puzzle is in place. Allen, the one player of the four who probably had any noteworthy trade value and a monster cap hit next season, is on his way to Chicago.
The Chargers deserve credit for recouping some value from Allen because a fourth-round selection is nothing to sneeze at for a competent general manager. This is precisely how you clear the books for a hopefully more competitive 2025 while taking the temporary hit for Justin Herbert. Get quality assets any way you can.
Because that’s what this trade is about for Los Angeles — preparing for a more fruitful 2025 season.
Grade: B
