In a twist, Keenan Allen left the West to search for gold.
Even stranger, he’ll try to find it with the Bears.
Allen, whom the Chargers traded to the Bears in March rather than pay a $23.1 million cap hit in his age 32 season, is one of the most accomplished receivers on the planet. Playing for a franchise that did more than any to modernize the forward pass, Allen finished with 904 catches for 10,530 yards, the most of any wide receiver in Chargers history. Among active NFL wide receivers, Allen ranks fourth in career yards — behind DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans and Davante Adams — and second in catches, trailing Hopkins.
There’s one thing missing, though — winning.
“That’s priority No. 1,” he told the Sun-Times. “You look at the résumé — that’s kinda the only thing that’s not there.”
He’s never won his division. Despite being blessed with star quarterbacks — Allen has played all but one of his career games with either Philip Rivers or Justin Herbert — the Chargers were never good enough to host a playoff game. They appeared in five postseason games since drafting Allen in 2013, winning two. Their most recent loss was among the most ignominious in postseason history — in January 2023, the Chargers blew a 27-0 lead to lose to the Jaguars on a field goal at the gun.
There’s one other thing missing from his career, Allen concedes — he’s made six Pro Bowls but has never been named an all-pro.
“But you play the game to win the Super Bowl,” he said. “You don’t play the game to win an all-pro.”
Playing on the last year of his contract, Allen might have one last shot to change the narrative. To do it with the Bears would be an accomplishment — during Allen’s career, the Bears have played in just two postseason games. The one they hosted had a more soul-crushing ending than the Chargers’ loss in Jacksonville: Cody Parkey’s double-doink against the Eagles.
Winning in Chicago could be the difference between the Hall of Fame and Hall of Very Good.
“When you look at the guys who aren’t (in the Hall) and where I am now, I think it can go both ways,” Allen said. “There’s a lot of guys who aren’t in who have better stats than me, and there’s guys that don’t have better stats than me that aren’t in.”
Andre Johnson, who joined the Hall earlier this month, played in only four playoff games. But he might be the exception.
“The body of work has to add up,” Allen said.
The Bears are betting that Allen will come close to replicating 2023, when he had 108 catches for 1,243 yards in only 13 games. His 95.6 receiving yards per game last year would be a Bears single-season record, while his 108 catches would rank second in franchise history.
Allen is known as perhaps the league’s best route-runner — precise, clever and smart. He can change the pace of his routes to confuse defenses, understands how to maintain leverage against defenders and knows how to cut off both his left and right foot without altering his balance.
“If you play him too close, he’s good enough to make that incredible catch,” Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson said. “So you have to give him space to see which way he’s going. If you sell on a route too hard, he can take it back the other way. And if you play him low, he’s definitely taking it over the top.”
The Bears hope that knowledge rubs off on their rookies: No. 9 pick Rome Odunze, who plays Allen’s position, and quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick.
Allen has befriended Williams, the way he has every quarterback in his career. The two stayed in the same hotel during offseason workouts and bonded over playbook study and Monopoly Deal, a card game. Allen stood up at his high school quarterback’s wedding. His quarterback at Cal was Zach Maynard, his half-brother. He’s friends with Herbert and still talks to Rivers every week.
Allen said Rivers was excited about him signing with the Bears, comparing it to his own one-year stint with the Colts in 2020 before retirement.
Being traded by the only team he’s known motivated the receiver.
“A lot of it wasn’t because of production,” he said. “It was because of the money. They didn’t want to pay me. You get a little chip on your shoulder.”
He’s comforted by the fact it happened to other Chargers: LaDainian Tomlinson (Jets) and Eric Weddle (Ravens and Rams) and Junior Seau (Dolphins and Patriots). Father Time — and a big salary cap hit — remains undefeated.
“It could be a good thing … ” Allen said. “When you’re with the Chargers, everybody knows you. When you’re here, you’ve gotta create a new nickname — nobody really knows the nickname. Nobody really knows what you do day in and day out, how you approach the game. You’ve got to restart those things. And then you want to be consistent for this team.”
That nickname, for the record: Slayer.
Allen is still getting used to the Midwest. In his apartment elevator, strangers say hi — something that never happened back home. The cold weather, when it comes, will be new, too.
“California,” he said, “is definitely a place you don’t want to leave.”
Allen might be here for just one season. He’s unsure how many he has left — he said he’ll decide at the end of the year if he wants to play in 2025 — but is open to staying with the Bears.
“It depends on how the extension works,” he said, “and how long I want to keep playing.”
Truth is, he didn’t really feel like a transplant until training camp began. During offseason work, he tricked his mind into thinking that he was just in town for a short time — like during Pro Bowl week.
“Once it was time to really go and really be away from the family, it kinda got me,” he said. “The transition.”
Allen’s kids are staying back in California to go to school. While that’s allowed him to linger longer at Halas Hall — “I don’t have anybody waiting for me,” he said — it can be lonely. Right now, he said, it feels like he’s been left home alone for a long weekend. That probably won’t change as the season marches on.
“I don’t think it’ll be any different,” he said. “Except when it gets cold — I got nobody to cuddle.”
Play deep into January, though, and Chicago will be happy to provide the warmth.