Acquiring Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers was a stroke of genius and good fortune for GM Ryan Poles. He knew the Chicago Bears needed another credible wide receiver presence opposite D.J. Moore. He spent time combing the free agent market, looking for a good fit. That was when he learned the six-time Pro Bowler was available. Despite knowing his team was already strapped for draft picks, he felt Allen was too good of a player to ignore. So he flipped a 4th rounder to L.A., securing the veteran star.
While fans were ecstatic about him furthering his potential Hall of Fame career in Chicago, there was one issue. Allen’s contract is entering its final season. He will be a free agent in 2025. That means the Bears have a decision to make. Either they let him walk next year, hoping to secure a compensatory pick when he signs elsewhere. Or they see if they can give him an extension of some kind to keep him with the team for a few more years. GM Ryan Poles made it clear when he met the media at the owners meetings that he thinks Allen has plenty of gas left in the tank.
The Bears are definitely interested in working out an extension.
Keeping Keenan Allen makes sense for the Bears.
For one, he’s still a great player. Last year was one of the best of his career, cracking over 1200 yards in only 13 games. His scientific route running means he should remain an effective weapon for at least two or three more seasons, provided he stays healthy. Getting to play across from Moore will only help with that. Defenses won’t be able to focus on doubling him as often as they could in L.A. because Mike Williams was always hurt. Moore doesn’t miss games, and he’s way too good to leave one-on-one with almost any cornerback in the league.
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The tricky part will be the price. Keenan Allen got traded out of L.A. because he was unwilling to take a pay cut, so it’s reasonable to assume any extension must be close to what he’s making now. The Bears won’t approach him about it right away, but the two sides are sure to have a dialogue at some point. It will be interesting to see if that dialogue has any impact on the Bears’ plans for the draft. If they feel negotiations aren’t in a good place, they could decide to draft a receiver high.
Khalil Herbert: 1 career fumble.
D’Andre Swift: 9 career fumbles.
As a defensive coordinator, I’m going to target both of these running backs.
But, which runner is more likely to put the ball on the turf?
That’s the one we’ll be coming after — big time! Because he has proven: he gives up the ball.
Pretty straightforward– isn’t it?
@TGena 2023 only Herbert 1 fumble 2023 only Swift 3 fumbles Once again, you selected large numbers to attempt to make a better case. Also, no fumbles in 4 playoff games for Swift. Numbers don’t lie, but you can make them tell a story that’s different than the facts. 9 fumbles and most in the passing game for his career. He needs to clean that up. Rushing, he’s not a fumbler and Herbert is better. Fact: rushing fumbles 593 carries 4 fumbles 593/4 = a fumble rate of 0.00674536256 you realize that’s less than 1% right? The other five are… Read more »
@timgjerde56 —
No worries.
@TGena I do offer an apology though. It’s not my intention to get personal even though I get worked up and say stupid personal $hit. I worked in the military for over 20 years and then worked on my MBA only to find out that no one would hire an over-the-hill sailor with no practical business experience. I ended up with $65,000 in school debt because I was warned that age discrimination while illegal, is common place. Who told me this, the CFO of a company who taught one of my courses? He saved me the indignity of paying at… Read more »
Another factual statement, the sky is blue. It’s not true at night is it? It’s a fallacy unless it’s qualified by something that makes it always true. For instance, the sky is blue on a clear day. Clear and day account for overcast and night time. You may call that a strawman or red herring but the comparison is just to show that while two things can be compared they can only be compared by the same attributes, not in general. Let’s add philosophy courses to the statistics and economics. Logic courses tell us that = means they are the… Read more »