Keenan Allen reveals the Texans, Jets were involved in trade discussions for him

Longtime Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen is now a Chicago Bear, but he says he nearly ended up on a couple of AFC rosters.

Allen is coming off one of the biggest years of his career in 2023, totaling 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns across 13 games despite playing for a very poor LAC team. Those figures earned him his sixth career Pro Bowl appearance. Now, head to Chicago to form an impressive one-two punch with D.J. Moore.

Before Chicago made the deal, though, Los Angeles was also in talks with the New York Jets and Houston Texans regarding a potential Allen trade, according to Bears beat writer Adam Jahns of The Athletic. He tweeted out this report Saturday morning:

“Bears WR Keenan Allen said that the Texans and Jets were also involved in trade conversations for him.”

Another NFL reporter, Dianna Russini of ESPN, chimed in to note that there wasn’t a whole lot of progress with NYJ on the deal and more of just a chat. However, Houston did make some headway and nearly got a deal done, but didn’t.

“From what I understand, the conversation with the Jets was just a conversation, no serious offers made. The Texans were close to landing Allen in Houston to play with CJ Stroud. In the end, Bears made best offer to Chargers.”

Jahns also noted that Allen was very matter-of-fact when it came to his contract situation and the trade. The Chargers spent part of this offseason overhauling the biggest contracts on their books, restructuring deals with Joey Bosa and Kahlil Mack while releasing Mike Williams. Allen said he was approached with a pay cut and was having no part of that.

“It was, ‘I’m not doing it.’ I’m not doing it. I just came off my best season, so it’s not happening,” Allen recounted to reporters during his introductory presser in Chicago.

With that development, LAC had to trade him and the Bears were the ones who outbid the Jets and Texans for the veteran star WR.