Keenan Allen hints at returning to Bears in 2025

When the Chicago Bears traded a fourth-round pick for veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen last offseason, speculation about his future with the team beyond 2024 began. Allen is in the final year of a four-year, $80 million contract and will likely demand a bloated contract in free agency.

Making matters more complicated was the Bears’ first-round selection of receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth overall pick. Odunze has played most of his rookie season as the third wheel behind DJ Moore and Allen, and expectations are that he’ll emerge as Moore’s primary running-mate, if not Chicago’s WR1, in 2025.

That leaves Allen’s place on the roster and the cost of keeping him around a huge question mark.

The 12-year veteran helped answer that question (at least a little) when he spoke with reporters on Thursday. Check it out:

“Talking with DJ (Moore) today, he wants me to run it back.”

When asked if he wants to “run it back”, Keenan Allen replied, “Yeah, absolutely”. pic.twitter.com/OwTDYOCa2f

— Marquee Bears (@BearsMarquee) December 5, 2024

When asked if he wanted to “run it back” in 2025 with Moore and the Bears, Allen responded with an “absolutely.” It’s a good sign that Chicago’s locker room and one of its most important veterans remains confident in the team’s upside, so much so that Allen wants to play his 13th season with the Bears.

READ: Should Caleb Williams be involved in Bears’ head coaching search?

Allen has benefited as much as any player on the Chicago Bears offense since Shane Waldron was replaced by Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator. He’s totaled 14 catches for 159 yards and three touchdowns over the last two games, and if he’s healthy enough to play in Week 14 against the San Francisco 49ers, he could be setting up for another big week.

Whether or not the Bears will oblige and re-sign Allen is a storyline worth monitoring once the season concludes. A lot will depend on Allen’s asking price. He’ll be 33 next season and it does look like he’s lost a step this year. Still, a player with Allen’s short-area route-running chops and overall positional wisdom has immense value to a young quarterback like Caleb Williams, as the last couple of games have proven.