Keenan Allen returned to the LA Chargers shortly before the 2025 season and now sits atop the mountain as the franchise's all-time receptions leader. Allen passed Antonio Gates on Sunday night in a moment that Chargers fans thought would never happen after he was traded to the Chicago Bears.
Allen spent one up-and-down year with the Bears. The veteran wideout had moments of greatness, but his overall dip in production led many to believe he was over the hill. Allen didn't seem to have much of a market in free agency and was adamant that he only wanted to play in Los Angeles or Chicago.
Well, it seems like Allen was just trying to get leverage in his contract negotiations with the Chargers. Speaking with reporters after Sunday night's game, Allen admitted what Chargers and Bears fans should have known all along: that he was always going to come back to the Bolts.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen on if the record means more not knowing if he'd be back after his year in Chicago: "I was gonna do whatever I could to come back."
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) November 10, 2025
Keenan Allen admits he was always going to come back to the Chargers
It wasn't that Allen was only going to play in Chicago or Los Angeles. It was that Allen wanted to return to the Chargers all along. The Bears were merely a chess piece on Allen's board as he looked to gain as much leverage as possible.
It took until the dog days of summer but Allen struck a deal with the Chargers that pays him a serviceable amount in 2025, albeit not a massive lump sum. Allen signed a one-year, $8.52 million contract with the Bolts. He might have been able to get more on the open market, but it's clear he always wanted to be a Charger.
The Chargers traded Allen to the Bears for a fourth-round pick during the 2024 offseason. Los Angeles was well over the salary cap and essentially had to cut two of the team's big-four contracts between Allen, Mike Williams, Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa.
Williams was cut, Allen was traded, and both Mack and Bosa restructured their deals to create more cap flexibility. In hindsight, the Chargers were probably better off getting rid of Bosa as he was cut a year later after a non-productive season in 2024. But alas, hindsight is always 20/20.
The Chargers made up for it by bringing Allen back, and even brought Williams back as well. Williams shockingly retired before the start of training camp, keeping Chargers fans from the receiver reunion they wanted to see.
But either way, Allen came back home where he belongs as he continues making his case as the greatest wide receiver in franchise history. It's a blessing to have Allen back in the powder blue, and hopefully, there is more to come after the 2025 season.