The Bears on Thursday acquired six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen in a blockbuster trade from the Chargers in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round draft pick (No. 110), pending a physical.
"We're extremely excited to add Keenan to our team," general manager Ryan Poles said. "His body of work speaks for itself and we look forward to him elevating our offense."
Allen, 31, has spent his entire 11-year NFL career with the Chargers, who selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft out of California. The 6-2, 211-pounder has appeared in 139 games with 134 starts and caught 904 passes for 10,530 yards and 59 touchdowns.
Allen was voted to five straight Pro Bowls from 2017-21 and was chosen for a sixth time last season when he led the NFL with a career-high and franchise-record 108 receptions for 1,243 yards and seven TDs despite missing the final four games with a heel injury.
Last year Allen became the first player in NFL history to catch at least 15 passes in three career games. He also became the first player to have at least 15 receptions and throw a touchdown pass in a game, accomplishing that feat in a 28-24 Week 3 win over the Vikings when he established career highs with 18 receptions and 215 yards and tossed a 49-yard TD pass to receiver Mike Williams.
Allen has caught at least 100 passes in five of the last seven seasons with 102 in 2017, 104 in 2019, 100 in 2020, 106 in 2021 and 108 in 2023. In addition, he has six 1,000-yard campaigns. Last year he became the fastest player in NFL history to surpass 900 receptions, doing so in his 139th career game,
Check out new Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen in action. (Photos via AP)
In 2013, he set Chargers rookie receiving records with 71 receptions and 1,046 yards. After sustaining a season-ending torn ACL in the 2016 opener, Allen was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2017 after leading the NFL with 1,393 receiving yards. That season he became the first receiver in league history to record three straight games with at least 10 catches, 100 yards and one touchdown.
With the acquisition of Allen, the Bears are the only NFL team with two receivers who both compiled at least 1,200 yards last season. Allen finished 11th with 1,243 yards, while DJ Moore was sixth with a career-high 1,364 yards. Allen's receivers coach with the Chargers the past three seasons, Chris Beatty, is entering his first year in that role with the Bears.
The deal for Allen comes almost exactly a year after the Bears acquired Moore in a blockbuster trade with the Panthers. In that deal, which was agreed to March 10, 2023, the Bears sent the No. 1 pick in last year's draft to Carolina in exchange for 2023 first- and second-round choices, a 2024 first-round selection that ended up becoming the No. 1 overall pick and a 2025 second-round choice.
