The Chicago Bears made a splash when they traded for wide receiver Keenan Allen this offseason, pairing him with DJ Moore and now rookie Rome Odunze for one of the league’s best receiver trios.
Allen was brought in to be a weapon for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, but he’s also entering the final year of his current contract where there are two other big names at receiver on the roster.
Back in March, Bears general manager Ryan Poles indicated the goal was to have Allen in Chicago beyond the 2024 season. But the Bears haven’t had contract discussions yet, and it’s likely those won’t come until during the season or even the offseason.
While Allen, 32, faces an uncertain future, he made it clear he wants to play for as long as he can.
“I’m going to let the play speak for itself,” Allen said. “And if they offer me something that I like, we’ll go from there.”
Right now, the receiver market is booming. The Minnesota Vikings signed Justin Jefferson to a four-year deal worth a reported $140 million with $110 million guaranteed. Elsewhere in the division, the Detroit Lions inked Amon-Ra St. Brown to a reported four-year, $120 million deal with $77 million guaranteed.
“The players are going to continue to get better,” Allen said. “They’re younger, bigger, stronger, faster, and they continue to raise the bar, so as long as they’re taking care of their job and vets like me, we just continue to do what we do and take the backseat and get paid as well.”
While some players would prefer not to risk injury playing without a long-term contract in place, Allen said he’s ok with playing out his current one-year deal before the Bears potentially offer to sign him to an extension.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he said. “I mean, that’s the goal right now is to go out and do what I always do and just try to remain who I am. And the market just got reset, so…”