The Chargers have traded wide receiver Keenan Allen to the Bears, Los Angeles announced.
The Thursday night deal cost the Bears a fourth-round pick (No. 110 overall) and helped a cap-strapped Chargers create some much-needed salary cap space while possibly giving Chicago a top offensive weapon for next season.
The Bears have been expected to be involved in some sort of trade heading into next month’s draft, but many had been anticipating it to involve quarterback Justin Fields, whose future has been in flux as the franchise decides what to do with the No.1 overall pick.
Allen’s trade comes as a bit of a shock since even he had expressed last month during Pro Bowl weekend that he didn’t expect to be leaving Los Angeles.
“I don’t see myself going anywhere,” he told NFL Network.
The Chargers thanked him for his strong tenure with the club that saw him reach six Pro Bowls.
“What Keenan Allen has meant to the Chargers for more than a decade cannot adequately be expressed through mere words,” president of football operations John Spanos said in a statement. “Keenan’s impact lives in the hearts of our fans, in the communities which he has served and amongst the countless teammates who have formed a brotherhood with him. There will only be one Keenan Allen, and we cannot thank him enough for the contributions he has made to our organization both on and off the field.”
Allen had also told reporters in January that he would only go to a select few teams in a trade and would consider retiring, ESPN reported.
NFL insider Albert Breer reported Sunday that the Chargers had been having “exploratory trade talks” on Allen, though he had also indicated that Allen was the “least likely to be moved.”
The wide receiver would have held a $34.71 million 2024 cap hit against the Chargers, and the decision to trade Allen saves the Chargers crucial space for this upcoming year.
The Chargers have been working to get cap compliant this week, restructuring the contracts of Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa while also releasing Mike Williams on Wednesday.
Allen was the longest-tenured member of the Chargers before the trade and had set a franchise record in receptions last season with 108 and finished the 2023 campaign with 1,243 yards.
Allen will turn 32 next month.
The Chargers, which have a new head coach in Jim Harbaugh, hold the fifth overall pick in the 2024 draft taking place in Detroit.