Keenan Allen's agent refutes Chargers GM's claim he gave WR multiple options
Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz made it seem like he tried his hardest to keep wide receiver Keenan Allen on the roster instead of trading him to the Chicago Bears.
He told reporters as much, stating he presented Allen and his representation with “multiple different options” but “none of them worked out.”
But Allen’s agent Joby Branion says that’s not exactly how negotiations with the first-year GM went down, suggesting Hortiz’s remarks about trying to retain Allen were disingenuous.
“To be clear, only one offer was made,” Branion tweeted. “It was a pay cut for 2024 with a 2-year extension (and both years had even deeper cuts to his current pay). We made a counter offer. It was rejected. Then we were informed of the Chargers’ intention to trade Keenan Allen.”
While the truth about what exactly went on between the two sides isn't clear, it’s known that the Chargers did, in fact, approach Allen about lowering his $23.1 million cap hit in 2024, which he had zero interest in doing.
“It was, I'm not doing it; I'm not doing it,” the 31-year-old Allen told reporters during his introductory press conference with the Bears. “[I] came off my best season, so it's not happening.”
Allen set new career highs in receptions (108) and receiving yards per game (95.6), and his 150 targets, 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns were all the second most of his career.
Strapped for cap space just hours before the March 13 deadline to be cap compliant, the Chargers sent Allen to the Bears for a 2024 fourth-round pick.
Chicago was one of three teams that reportedly made offers for Allen along with the Houston Texans and New York Jets.
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