The Los Angeles Chargers made a painful decision this offseason.
Although veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen evidently wanted to continue his career, they ultimately opted not to bring him back as a late offseason signing. Allen went to the Indianapolis Colts on a one-year deal worth up to $8.32 million, and he'll get a chance there to play a major role in their offense.
On the surface, moving on from Allen may have been an ill-advised move. He was Justin Herbert's most trusted target last season in Greg Roman's scheme, and the Chargers will now depend on unproven quantities—like Brenen Thompson and KeAndre Lambert-Smith—to pick up some of the slack after his departure.
But new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has a clear vision for how he sees this offense unfolding, and it's dependent upon a focus on YAC that Allen simply no longer has in his skill set.
As training camp and the preseason continue to unfold, Los Angeles' reasons for letting Allen walk become more clear. Although we haven't seen many live-action reps from pieces like Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey, the receiving corps as a whole continues to impress at nearly every turn.
This could be a major year for the Chargers offense, and it unfortunately couldn't include Allen.
The Chargers' receiver room is already a tight fit on the 53-man roster— and there will be no room for Keenan Allen
If Allen were to have returned to Los Angeles for another season, it would've been in a limited, veteran type of role. His part in the offense would have been minimized significantly in favor of snaps for McConkey out of the slot.
But even a quick look at the Chargers' emerging receiving corps will reveal why that wasn't possible.
It's been a rough couple days for the offense in training camp, but it seems as though McConkey, Johnston, and Tre' Harris are finally getting their feet under them. All three receivers have made numerous impressive catches over the last two days of practice, according to ESPN reporter Kris Rhim's notes on X.
Brenen Thompson has also been highly impressive when we've seen him in action. Although he left early in the matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, he did more than enough to showcase his speed and catch-point ability against the Houston Texans. He won't be slated for major snaps in this offense because of McDaniel's proclivity for multiple tight-end sets, but he'll be available as a weapon to help stretch the defense and provide the occasional explosive play.
The most convincing argument against Allen's return likely lies at the end of the depth chart, though. Derius Davis and Lambert-Smith are currently slated to be WR5/6 on this roster. While Davis has successfully defended his role as punt/kick returner to this point in training camp, Lambert-Smith has likely earned a path to the roster with his consistent performance in the intermediate parts of the field—and especially with his four-reception, 58 yard outing against Houston.
Lambert-Smith isn't better than Allen. But he certainly has upside to be unlocked in his second season, and including both Lambert-Smith and Davis on the roster will require Los Angeles to make a cut somewhere else. Would Los Angeles ever have been willing to make that sacrifice for a player soon set for retirement like Allen?
Probably not—and that is why his departure, as unfortunate as it is, makes perfect sense in the context of Los Angeles' roster decisions.
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