The Chicago Bears had a promising start to the 2024 season but cratered after a 4-2 start, enduring a 10-game losing streak before finishing the year with a win over the Green Bay Packers. A season like this has plenty of scapegoats and Chicago has spent the last several months cleaning house from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus.
The housecleaning by general manager Ryan Poles continued during free agency. While the Bears brought plenty of talent in, there were some names that were addition by subtraction. One name was a playmaker who was ticketed for a big role in Caleb Williams’s first season in the NFL but became an unreliable target for a team that had too many flaws to contend in the NFC North.
Bears Fans Won’t Miss Keenan Allen When He Signs Elsewhere
The Bears tried to help Williams’s transition to the NFL when they traded a fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for Keenan Allen. The 32-year-old was one of the most consistent receivers in the NFL, catching 100 passes and clearing 1,000 receiving yards in five of his final seven seasons in Los Angeles, and was figured to form a strong receiving trio with D.J. Moore and incoming rookie Rome Odunze.
In hindsight, the Bears would have been better off keeping their pick. Allen’s production tailed off significantly during his first season in Chicago catching just 70 passes for 744 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games. It was the lowest catch total in a season without a major injury since Allen caught 77 passes in 14 games in 2014 and his lowest yardage total since 2016 when he tore his ACL in the season opener.
The analytics don’t do Allen any favors. While NFL’s Next Gen Stats charted him with three yards of separation – the same number as Odunze in his rookie year – he ranked 73rd among 112 qualifying receivers with 1.36 yards per route run according to Pro Football Focus.
While an offensive line that allowed a league-high 68 sacks and a quarterback that had the sixth-longest time to throw (3.04 seconds) was part of the problem, Allen didn’t make the most of his opportunities. His eight drops were the most since he dropped nine passes in 2021 and his 10.3% drop rate was a career-high and the second-highest since he logged a 9.7% drop rate in 2017.
It all adds up to what was a wash of a trade for the Bears. Odunze didn’t have a perfect rookie season but he could have benefitted from not having Allen in the lineup across from him. While Moore was in the slot, he may have benefitted more as Allen ranked second on the team in targets.
It’s why the Bears have already telegraphed that Allen isn’t coming back and Bears fans probably won’t miss him when he’s gone. It gives Chicago a chance to get younger and cheaper in the upcoming draft and perhaps clear the way for Odunze to have a breakout season in 2025.