The Chicago Bears have settled most of their important business for the 2024 season. Every key player has gotten their contracts squared away. New faces have arrived to upgrade the roster. Among them is six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen. The star wide receiver joins D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze to form perhaps the most formidable trio of pass targets the Bears have ever put together. It doesn’t feel like a question of whether they will be productive together. It is more a matter of how long they stay together. GM Ryan Poles faces a dilemma.
Moore is under contract for two more years. Odunze is on a fresh four-year deal. They aren’t going anywhere. Allen is a trickier situation. He is in the last year of his current contract. Without an extension, he will enter the 2025 free agent market. Poles was asked about the issue on Waddle & Silvy for ESPN 1000. The GM didn’t weave around the question. Both sides have agreed that no extension talks will happen before or during the season. The Bears want to see how Allen does this year before engaging in a possible new deal.
Ryan Poles is making the right decision with this approach.
Allen is a terrific player, no question. However, facts are facts. He turns 32 this season, and there is no telling when his effectiveness may dip. Most receivers experience it somewhere around 33 to 35. There is also the fact he has missed 11 combined games over the past two years with various injuries. Handing him a big contract extension, even for two years, without seeing him play actual games would be an unnecessary gamble. If he plays well and stays healthy? The Bears can feel better about giving him his money.
Besides, they no longer have to feel pressure to get this done. Drafting Odunze gave them excellent insurance. If Allen leaves, the Bears would still have the 9th overall pick and Moore as primary targets for Caleb Williams. That money could then go towards other positions of need next off-season. Chicago is open to keeping Allen around beyond this year. He and Williams seem to have a strong connection already. Still, Ryan Poles must be smart about this. There is no reason to jump the gun.
Exactly @Jordo. Plus Moore and other players will be due soon as well. Tepper said that he looked at the trade with the Bears with Moore equaling a 1st round pick, and he was right. Moore is younger and cost more (pun) in trade comp even though he was part of the larger package. Tepper said he would have paid another 1st rounder but Poles demanded a player instead and they agreed he equaled a 1st rounder.
Oh yeah and Barry…….puff,puff, pass my brother.
Honestly I would rather ink Moore to a 3 year extension vs extending Keenan. It likely comes down to 1 or the other in the foreseeable future unless Keenan agreed to a 1 year extension which isn’t likely. Poles isn’t going to have 2 WRs on the roster in 2026 that will both be making North of $20M/ year and Moore is the younger receiver. Especially with Odunze waiting to get more opportunities. I think drafting Odunze put a nail in any extension plans with Keenan. Poles likes to spread the wealth more opposed to overspending on 1 position group… Read more »
The Bears most likely are not resigning Allen next year. Poles couldn’t predict how the draft would pan out but knew he was drafting Williams and knew he needed at minimum another receiver so he signed Allen. Now that he got Odunze, Allen feels a little like a luxury and couple that with the fact that Allen wanted big money from the Chargers before they traded him makes it unlikely he’ll return IMO
@Barry: Sure, but then Poles paid it forward (if backward in time) by trading Fields for even lower quality D.S.