4 Bears on Thin Ice Following Trade Deadline

The Chicago Bears were relatively quiet at this year's trade deadline. With the playoffs looking like a long shot, the Bears decided to stick with the status quo outside of trading running back Khalil Herbert to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick.

With the time for trading over, the Bears will aim to have a strong finish to the 2024 NFL season. Although certain Chicago players have met and even exceeded expectations this fall, others have been a constant source of frustration across the fanbase, putting their future with the franchise in jeopardy.

With that in mind, here are four Bears who are skating on thin ice following the deadline.

1. Keenan Allen, WR

The Bears worked hard in the offseason to give rookie quarterback Caleb Williams as many weapons as possible to succeed in Year 1. That included acquiring veteran receiver Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers back in March.

It seemed like a phenomenal deal at the time. After all, Allen is a six-time Pro Bowl wideout who had just racked up 1,243 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in only 13 games with the Chargers last season. He's the type of player that all rookie QBs would love to play alongside.

Unfortunately, Allen has rarely been a reliable target this season. The ex-California product has only caught 21-of-42 targets (50.0%) through six games for 197 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The 32.8 yards per game he's averaging are, by far, the worst production rate of his career and he's also tallied a lowly 79.2 passer rating when targeted.

Even though he continues to see plenty of playing time and targets, it appears as if Allen's best days are firmly behind him. He's scheduled to hit free agency in the offseason, meaning he must find a way to turn things around if he wants another respectable contract — whether that's with the Bears or another team.

Either way, Allen must perform at a higher level than what he's shown.