If Keenan Allen plays again next year, he said Friday will be in either Los Angeles or Chicago.
The receiver, who will become a free agent after Sunday’s game, kept his family back at their home in Southern California after the Bears traded for him in March. He said Friday he’d be open to playing for either the Chargers or Rams next year; if he decides to sign a new deal with the Bears, Allen said he’d at least consider moving his family to the Chicago area.
“I have to talk it over with the wife and the kids to see what they want to do,” he said.
Allen entered the league in 2013 and played with the Chargers his whole career — in San Diego, Carson, Calif., and Los Angeles. He posted perhaps the best season of his career, catching 108 passes for 1,243 yards in 13 games in 2023. With the Bears, the 32-year-old put together perhaps his worst season, catching 67 balls for 719 yards.
Allen said Friday he's liked his new home — “The city is top-notch, the food is great,” he said — but said whomever the Bears hire as a coach will influence whether he wants to return. He wants a coach with experience.
It was difficult to transition from playing with two quarterbacks in his career — Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert — to a rookie, Caleb Williams, who is learning.
“You just gotta be patient with him,” he said.
