Chicago Bears: Despite the circus atmosphere, Allen wants to return

While this has been a season to forget for the Chicago Bears, wide receiver Keenan Allen wants to return so he and his teammates can have a re-do.

This has been another season to forget for the Chicago Bears. Just a few months ago, hopes were high that the team could finally realistically compete for a playoff spot. General manager Ryan Poles overhauled the offense and made tweaks to the defense and special teams and the Bears became the NFL’s favorite team.

Well, things have not worked out as planned. We still see the same offensive struggles that we have seen for most of the past two decades. Additionally, there have been struggles on both defense and special teams. At 4-9, the Bears find themselves in last place (again) in the NFC North.

Chicago is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. That is halfway to their franchise-worst 14-game losing streak, established just two seasons ago. Since the offseason, the team fired two offensive coordinators and fired head coach Matt Eberflus after a number of gaffes that resulted in several losses.

Now the priority for this season is to finally get a win and for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to develop well and not get injured. That is made difficult since the offensive line has given up 56 sacks this season, far and away more than any other team.

Williams now has the franchise record for suffering the most sacks by a quarterback in a season. The overall team record is 66 (among four quarterbacks), so with 4 games remaining that mark could easily be broken.

One of the biggest moves that Poles made this offseason was to bring in six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen. Adding him to the roster that had D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze was supposed to give the Chicago Bears one of the best wide receiver groups in the league.

However, with former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s struggle to run a proper offense, the trio has not performed as well as expected. They have shown flashes of how good they can be together but it has usually been one having a big game while the others not. Additionally, the flashes have not been consistent.

Allen is in the final year of his $80.1 million deal. There is speculation now of whether or not the Chicago Bears should bring him back and if he even wants to return. We at least got the answer to the second part of that question.

With all of the struggles this season, Moore has campaigned for Allen to come back. He wants Allen to return so the trio can “run it back” in 2025. His feeling is that with a better head coach and Williams and Odunze having a season under their belts this offense can produce the way many expected.

Allen spoke with reporters last Saturday and mentioned that Moore asked him to come back. Reporters followed up by asking if he wanted to stay in Chicago. He had a simple two-word answer to that question.

Yeah, absolutely.

Allen struggled out of the gate this season. He missed two games early and was unable to get involved in the offense very much. However, he has gotten better as the season progresses. For the season he has 47 catches for 471 yards (10 yards per catch) and 5 touchdowns.

Is having Allen return feasible?

It is one thing to want to return and another to be able to return. Even if the Chicago Bears want Allen to return, finances and priorities may deter that from happening. According to Spotrac, his market value this offseason is two years at $16.6 million per year.

The Chicago Bears are projected to have at least $82.2 million in salary cap space. While that is a good amount to work with, the team has other, more pending priorities. The offensive line is a mess. While Poles added a lot of skill position players, he failed to address the offensive line very much.

The offensive line needs to be a priority this offseason. Additionally, depth along the defensive line needs to improve. The Chicago Bears have gotten killed in the trenches this season. In addition to the sacks, the line has not been able to open holes for the running game. The defensive line has gotten gashed by opponents’ running backs. Also, the Bears have not been able to get to the quarterbacks again.

Bringing Allen to town in the first place might have hurt the Chicago Bears. Poles gave up a critical fourth-round pick. By trading away that pick, the team had just four entering the draft. Poles did select Kiran Amegadjie in the third round. However, having another lineman selected could have solidified the unit a bit.

It will be interesting to see if Allen decides to give the Chicago Bears a discount. He may have a bad taste in his mouth after this frustrating season. However, he is about to turn 33. This may be his final shot at having a nice pay day. Will he leave money on the table on possibly his last contract? We will see what happens this offseason.

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