The Chicago Bears made a huge move trading for six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen, sending a fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for a top wide receiver.
Allen, 31, is in the final year of his current contract — one that the Chargers asked him to restructure, which led to him being traded after he declined. He’s set to count $23.1 million against the salary cap in 2024.
With Chicago shelling out a valuable fourth-round selection in exchange for Allen, the expectation is the Bears will attempt to sign Allen to an extension of some sort.
Allen was asked whether he envisions playing in Chicago beyond the 2024 season, where he expects to be a Bear past this season.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he told reporters Saturday. “You know we wouldn’t be here right now, obviously. Yeah, we’ll get there down the line.”
There’s no timeline on a potential contract extension, but the expectation is something gets done — or Allen wouldn’t be here.
For what it’s worth, it took general manager Ryan Poles four days after trading for Montez Sweat last October to lock him down to a long-term extension.