Keenan Allen is still on the market, and the latest buzz suggests the veteran wide receiver may be widening his search.
Allen is heading into his 14th NFL season and his age-34 campaign, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on the John Keim Report via Ampire Media that the longtime pass catcher appears more open than he was a year ago to landing on the East Coast. Fowler pointed out that Allen preferred to stay on the West Coast during free agency last year, but that stance may not be as firm now.
“Yeah, that’s interesting because I remember last free agency, I heard that he wanted to stay on the West Coast and did,” Fowler said. “This year, I haven’t heard that as much.
That doesn’t mean he might not want to. But he has come around to (the idea of) coming to the East Coast and playing.”
Fowler also framed the challenge with a player like Allen as one of value. At this point in a career, he said, the money may not match the price tag a veteran once expected, even if the player still has something to offer.
“But I think at this stage, you know, he feels like his game ages well. He’s not a speed guy.
He’s not a 4.3 runner. But he can get open and run routes.
So, as long as he can still do that and help a young quarterback, I think it would be enticing to him. I could see that, but the money always speaks with these deals.
You’ve got to have something that’s respectable to the player. That’s why these free agents are tough, these 30-year-old guys, because they’re used to a certain price point.
It’s probably not going to be there anymore.”
The Chargers haven’t completely ruled out bringing Allen back. General manager Joe Hortiz left the door open in May, though he also made it clear the team wants to give its younger players room to grow.
If Allen really is open to going east, the Commanders stand out as a possible fit because of their clear need at receiver.
Allen, a former third-round pick by the Chargers in 2013, was entering the final year of his five-year, $46.671 million contract that included $20 million guaranteed when Los Angeles signed him to a four-year, $80 million extension.
He was traded from the Chargers to the Bears in March 2024 for a 2024 fourth-round pick. Allen played the 2024 season on a base salary of $18,100,000, the final year of that deal, before signing a one-year contract to return to the Chargers for 2025.
Last season, Allen played all 17 games for Los Angeles and finished with 81 catches on 122 targets for 777 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
In Other News...
Chargers Linked To Bold Receiver Move That Could Change Everything
The Chargers are at least being mentioned in the early conversation about adding another wide receiver for 2026, and the idea carries obvious appeal for a team that has spent years looking for more explosive answers on the outside. Tyreek Hill is part of that discussion after his release from Miami, and even with a limited 2025 season behind him, he still brings the kind of speed and field-stretching presence that can change how defenses line up.
Analyst Kristopher Knox pointed to Los Angeles as a possible landing spot, noting the fit with the Chargers offense and the possibility of Hill reconnecting with familiar coaching or quarterback ties. For a team trying to keep pace in a loaded AFC, the intrigue is less about whether Hill still has name value and more about whether the Chargers would be willing to make a bold swing when the market opens. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Camp Could Turn Two Rookies Into Week 1 Answers
The Chargers are about to get their first real look at a rookie class that could matter sooner than expected, with first-round pick Akheem Mesidor and the rest of the group reporting for training camp on July 23. For a team trying to sort out the bottom of the roster while also finding help that can survive the regular season, this is the point where draft-day optimism starts meeting the speed, size and repetition of NFL football.
Mesidor is the name with the most obvious ripple effect, because a strong camp could reshape the edge-rusher group and make the final numbers on the depth chart a little tighter than they look now. Brenen Thompson, Travis Burke and Genesis Smith also arrive with very different paths to playing time, and each one has a camp question attached to him, whether it is speed versus physicality, raw tools versus readiness, or coverage traits versus consistency. [Read more 🡒]