The Chicago Bears decided to not just sit quietly in free agency.
That much was evident after they sent a fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers to land wide receiver Keenan Allen. Both teams confirmed the move.
Allen, 31, has made six Pro Bowls and is entering the final season of the four-year contract extension he signed in 2020. He is due to receive a $5 million bonus early next week.
Now, he will have a prominent role in the Bears' offense, opposite receiver DJ Moore.
"We're extremely excited to add Keenan to our team," Bears general manager Ryan Poles said. "His body of work speaks for itself and we look forward to him elevating our offense."
Allen, by the way, declined to take a pay cut from the Chargers, leading to the deal.
For the Bears, it undoubtedly fills a need.
"We don't have a lot of depth there, first of all," coach Matt Eberflus said of the receiver position last month, via ESPN. "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."
Allen should help change all that. He finished last season with 108 receptions for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns. With LA, Allen spent the past four seasons catching passes from quarterback Justin Herbert.
Now, it either will be returnee Justin Fields or rookie Caleb Williams, the QB from USC expected to be drafted with the Bears' No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft in April.
On the other hand, the Chargers will have to find Herbert some new targets.
"What Keenan Allen has meant to the Chargers for more than a decade cannot adequately be expressed through mere words," Chargers owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. "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."
