Drafted in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, Keenan Allen has established himself as one of the biggest fan favorites for LA Chargers fans. After Allen survived Wednesday's efforts to become cap-compliant, many fans breathed a sign of relief as he would be returning to the team in 2024 to pick up right where he left off.
Well, that was not the plan that general manager Joe Hortiz and head coach Jim Harbaugh actually had in mind. Late Thursday night the bombshell trade report was dropped: the Chargers would be trading Allen to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round pick.
Chargers are trading WR Keenan Allen to the Bears for a fourth-round pick, as @JayGlazer reported.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2024
It is safe to say that this move was not met while by the fanbase, and quite frankly, they have every right to be outraged with the new regime that made this decision.
Chargers' Keenan Allen trade is as nonsensical as it is upsetting
When the Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh the new catchphrase that went around the fanbase was "in Harbaugh we trust". Chargers fans knew that the new regime had some tough decisions to make and knew that part of the equation of getting Harbaugh was him crafting the team in his vision.
And even though fans expected some heartbreaking moves, this decision may have just removed that trust as quickly as it was established. Sure, fans can get emotional and miss the forest from the trees and might be blinded by the love of Allen to see what this move is all about. But even if we remove emotion, and just look at the logic of the move, it makes absolutely no sense.
The Chargers released Mike Williams and restructured both Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack in order to create cap space. Trading Allen adds to that cap space. Now, Justin Herbert's wide receiver room consists of an always-hurt Joshua Palmer, a first-round disappointment in Quentin Johnston, and a special teams returner in Derius Davis. That is it.
Sure, the team will probably take Malik Nabers with the fifth pick and that will definitely improve the room. But do you know what would have been better than a Nabers-Palmer 1-2 punch? A Nabers-Allen 1-2 punch?
Keenan might be getting up there in age but he is still playing at a high level. The 2023 season was the best of his career and he probably would have been a first-team All-Pro if he didn't sit out the final games of the season with Herbert hurt. That is how special he was in 2023 despite his age.
The most logical direction the Chargers could have taken while navigating this salary-cap situation was to keep one of the receivers and one of the edge rushers. Williams was an easy decision, and the tough decision was supposed to be between who to keep between Mack and Bosa.
Instead, the Chargers decided to keep both Mack and Bosa (even though they have Tuli Tuipulotu on the roster) and completely wipe out Justin Herbert's wide receiver room. All that for a fourth-round pick and some cap space.
This trade is a knife in the heart of a fanbase that has had an extremely positive offseason thus far. Keenan Allen will always be remembered as a Chargers legend and he quite simply deserved a better send-off than this.