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The Chicago Bears have a total of nine free agents remaining on the open market, and the most high-profile one by far is wide receiver Keenan Allen.
After several years of consistent production, Allen saw a dip in 2024, although that was hardly his fault. Chicago had a crowded receivers room, a rookie quarterback, and a dysfunctional situation overall.
As if all that wasn't enough to stack the deck, Allen also had to miss two games due to injury. In all, he finished with 744 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Considering the addition of Luther Burden III in the 2025 NFL draft, the Bears and Allen reuniting remains unlikely, which means the former $80 million wide receiver will be playing elsewhere this coming season.
NFL Trade Rumors' Ethan Woodie envisions that new place being the New York Jets, a team that has a desperate need for an upgrade at wide receiver.
"Gone are the days of Allen being a needle-moving addition, but he'd at least be on par with the likes of Lazard and offers a skillset this offense currently lacks," Woodie wrote. "Unless Corley steps forward into a major role, the Jets don't have an every-down slot weapon. Allen would be that, and he can still pick apart defenses with his route-running and intelligence. New York just needs to generate some safe targets and easy yards for the offense, something they failed to do a year ago. Allen would be a good step towards solving that."
It's true that Allen is turning 33 and there is a fear of decline as a result, especially after a down year in 2024. However, we're going to reserve judgement on that until we see how he plays in 2025, as there was just too much working against him last season to make that kind of blanket determination.
That said, even a diminished Allen would be an upgrade for a Jets receivers room that does not have much behind young star Garrett Wilson.
The Jets are currently slated to start Allen Lazard and Josh Reynolds, two players we like as depth options more than secondary and tertiary targets. Malachi Corley and Arian Smith are also in the mix, but both are unproven.
At his best, Allen is an elite slot receiver who makes a quarterback's job easier. He can be a reliable security blanket for Justin Fields and a more than adequate No. 2 option behind Wilson.
Spotrac estimated a two-year, $22.1 million deal in free agency for Allen, but it's not going to cost that much at this late stage in free agency. Allen will probably garner a one-year deal worth less than $10 million in total, which would be a reasonable price to pay for someone who can help Fields in a big way.
The Jets are hoping Fields can finally take a step forward in his career in his first season in New York, but that will be difficult with his current lackluster group of receivers. Allen would immediately upgrade his situation in a big way.
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