Keenan Allen Likes Enough of What He Sees in Bears to Stick Around

Bears veteran receiver wouldn't mind getting the contract extension he'll need if he is to be in Chicago past 2024 season.

Keenan Allen hauls in a pass over the middle against the Bears. He's confident he can do the same for them now. / Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

It's a new team, a new city, a new experience for an older receiver and already Keenan Allen is certain about one thing as a member of the Chicago Bears.

Keenan Allen on Rome Odunze. 👀

Kid is gonna be a star. #Bears pic.twitter.com/8JqIo6c3II

— Sky Kruse (@KruseSports_) June 4, 2024

If they want to give him a contract for longer than one year, he said Tuesday at minicamp he will be listening, especially after all the cash some teams have thrown around at receivers.

"Absolutely," the 32-year-old Allen said to wanting another contract after his one-year deal with the Bears. "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 …"

The reset came from several contracts, but especially the four-year, $140 million deal the Vikings gave to Justin Jefferson this week.

"It's huge," Allen said. "I mean, it's big for the game.

"(Running back) Christian McCaffrey just went for 19 (million a year). That's huge for a running back, and as long as those numbers continue to go up, the players are going to continue to get better. 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."

The big cash goes for the No. 1 receivers. As for the second guy, like Allen will be this year: "You've got wide receiver 2s that are still getting paid pretty good, I think above $20 million, I think," he said.

Allen can't say exactly how long he'd like to play, only that he wants to keep going and is fine with proving his value to the Bears in a receiver group with DJ Moore and rookie Rome Odunze.

Caleb Williams to Keenan Allen.pic.twitter.com/MpMbqRh0NJ

— Dave (@dave_bfr) June 4, 2024

"It's kind of tough to answer right now," he said. "But I mean, I’m going to play as long as I can.

"As far as an extension, I'm going to let the play speak for itself, and if they offer me something that I like, we'll go from there."

It will he easier for Allen to get to bigger numbers in cash and catches if he builds the connection with Caleb Williams. Tuesday represented Allen's first work against the Bears defense with Williams. He had missed the two weeks of OTAs against the defense for personal reasons, but was at OTAs for conditioning and when they ran routes "on air," or without defenders.

Allen expects it to take a while. to build the confidence with his rookie QB.

"It definitely takes a process," Allen said. "I would say somewhere in there between camp, when everybody starts to understand the chemistry, how the coach likes to call the play; how the quarterback is going to progress through it, the way he sees it and everybody getting to the spots that are most comfortable, where people are supposed to be."

From the time he went to see Williams work out at his pro day to other workouts he had off the field in California with Williams and the other Bears receivers, Allen has been impressed.

"He's obviously a guy who has tremendous talent, but it's going to be a work in progress," Allen said. "He just came out of college.

"The huddle call, having new terminology. For myself, some of the plays are the same but the terminology is different. So you hear one word, and you automatically go back to what I was hearing last year, but you have to transfer it to this year. So it’s like same play, different word. So you’ve just got to mix and match it, and he’s going to have to grow to it. It takes a while."

Williams was having some trouble still with the offense and cadence at minicamp, though he seemed much farther into it than at his first week of OTAs. It's all beginning stuff for the rookie passer right now.

"You've got guys, like I said, just the huddle call in itself, just being able to hear it and give it to the guys and knowing what you're saying, knowing what you're talking about, then going to the cadence and getting everybody on the same page with motions and seeing the defense, checking here," Allen said. "Safety comes down, you've got to know what to do. Yeah, it's definitely hard. Everybody goes through it. It's one of those things where you've got to go through it to get to it."

Allen just went through breaking in another rookie passer with the Chargers in 2020 with Justin Herbert after Philip Rivers had left in free agency. It's a matter of Williams getting more confidence in the system, Allen said.

"Both Philip and Justin have tremendous confidence," Allen said. "They believe in their arm, they believe in their talent and they believe in what they see. You've got to be able to see it and you've got to be able to make something happen right now.

"If you second-guess yourself just for a little bit and you hang on just too long and then something bad can happen. So understand what you're looking at and just make a play."

Williams found that out when he hesitated and threw a pick over the middle to Kevin Byard in Tuesday's practice.

Eventually, Allen says they'll get everything in sync. Allen's history and 11 seasons say as much.

"All the NFL coaches have seen Keenan for a lot of years and the first thing that comes to mind is that he's crafty," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "He is so crafty with his route running, it seems like he's always open, even when I used to double cover him.

"He is crafty. He understands his body and understands his way. He's really friendly to the quarterback because he's a really big target and he’s very good at what he does."

He might seem even craftier with his Chargers receivers coach, Chris Beatty, on board. Beatty was also Moore's college coach.

"That was huge," Allen said. "He's one of the first guys I talked to, and just him being here made it a lot more comfortable, just not having to adjust to another guy who I'm going to see every day, who's going to talk to me every day.

"We already have an understanding of the way I go through the week. He knows how I want to practice. He knows when and when not to with me, so it's great."

Now it's just a matter of getting to know the quarterback and the offense for Allen, and as he says, "it takes time."

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