Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen before a game at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 10, 2023. (Photo by Terry Pearson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Wide receiver Keenan Allen confirmed Saturday that he turned down a request from the Chargers to restructure his contract, which led to Thursday's surprise trade to the Chicago Bears. Allen said at his inaugural press conference that this was simply a business decision by both parties.
“There was really no emotion,” said Allen, who spent 11 seasons with the Chargers after being drafted in the third round of the 2013 draft and is one of the last ties to his San Diego days. “It was, ‘I’m not doing it.’ I’m not doing it.’ That’s not going to happen because my best season is over.”
Allen set a Chargers record with 108 receptions in the 2023 season, breaking Austin Ekeler's running back record of 107 receptions in the 2022 season. Allen also surpassed the 10,000-yard mark in his career with 1,243 receiving yards in 2023, second only to his 1,393-yard total in 2017.
Allen was selected to the Pro Bowl for the sixth time in his career.
“I'm really excited about this new opportunity (with the Bears),” Allen told reporters in Chicago. “It's a new organization, but there's a lot of tradition in this organization. Of course, I wanted to finish my career (with the Chargers), but things happen and you have to keep going.”
The Chargers traded Allen, 31, for a fourth-round pick in next month's draft. He said the Houston Texans and New York Jets also have expressed interest in him. He has one year left on the four-year, $80.1 million extension he signed in 2020, and will be paid a $5 million bonus on Sunday.
Allen said he wants to stay in Chicago with a contract extension.
“I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing,” he said of adjusting to playing for a new team after spending his entire career with the Chargers. “Nothing will change for me except the jersey. That last name will always be on my back.”
stick, ford sign
The Chargers officially announced the signings of backup quarterback Easton Stick and defensive tackle Poona Ford. Stick has spent the past five seasons with the Chargers, starting the final four games of last season after Justin Herbert was injured. Ford played for the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks.
