L.A. Chargers trade star wide receiver to Bears

The active, franchise-shifting offseason continued for the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night as they traded away one of the top players in team history in a cost-saving effort, the organization confirmed.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen, an 11-year NFL veteran, was traded to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, as first reported by Jay Glazer. Allen was drafted by the Chargers, then located in San Diego, in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Though he struggled with injuries early in his career, playing in just nine games in his third and fourth seasons combined, he broke out in 2017 with his first of six Pro Bowl appearances. He was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year that season.

Just last season, Allen became the all-time franchise leader in receptions (904) and receiving yards (10,530) among wide receivers.

The shocking bombshell trade comes as the new-look Chargers made several moves to become compliant with the NFL’s salary cap this week. Earlier this week, the team announced the release of wide receiver Mike Williams, its first-round pick in 2017.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, defensive ends Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack both restructured their contracts to remain with the team in 2024. The four players each had cap hits of more than $30 million in the upcoming season, providing L.A. with a challenge to stay under the league’s salary cap while keeping all four.

The two wide receivers turned out to be the cap casualties. The Chargers reportedly approached Allen about taking a pay cut to remain with the team, but he refused according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

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L.A., now thin at the wide receiver position, holds the 5th overall pick in late April’s NFL Draft.

The team hired former San Francisco 49ers and University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh to the same position in January and Joe Hortiz as general manager after he spent more than two decades in various scouting and front-office roles with the Baltimore Ravens.

With the team’s salary-cap problems appearing to be solved, the new tandem can now focus on building out the roster ahead of the 2024 season.

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