6 Bears Unlikely to Return in 2025 After Poor Start to Season

2. Keenan Allen, wide receiver

The Chicago Bears had the right thought process this offseason. They wanted to do whatever they possibly could to make life better/easier for their quarterback and part of that strategy involved upgrading the overall wide receiver room.

Before they drafted Rome Odunze with the 9th overall pick, the Bears made a trade for Los Angeles Chargers receiver Keenan Allen. This was considered a huge win in the offseason for the Bears because they were able to acquire Allen on the low (only cost a fourth-round pick) and he has historically been an outstanding outlet for his quarterbacks.

Allen knows how to get open. He makes plays after the catch. He's got strong hands. He works the sideline incredibly well. He is a playmaker and someone quarterbacks can trust.

So far with the Bears, however, we really haven't seen much of Keenan Allen on the field. And when he has been on the field, he hasn't been nearly as effective as we've come to know. He had just three catches for 19 yards in the Bears' win over the Los Angeles Rams recently. He's since been the subject of some potential trade deadline rumor fodder as the Bears are clearly featuring other players in the passing game.

It wouldn't be a shock to see Allen gone even before we get to the 2025 offseason at this rate. The Bears would obviously love to see him make the type of impact on their offense they felt he was capable of when they traded for him, but Allen is a high-volume target type of receiver and there might not be a high volume of targets for him in Chicago.

The Bears just have too many other mouths to feed and while Allen could still be good for a big game here and there this season, his best value to Chicago may only be if there's some type of injury to DJ Moore or Rome Odunze this season.