Keenan Allen’s resume is all most Bears fans need to know about the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who was acquired in a trade with the Chargers on Thursday night. But former Chargers teammate and current Bears teammate Amen Ogbongbemiga eagerly provided a hearty endorsement that figures to only increase the excitement.
“Dog — all day,” said Ogbongbemiga, a special-teams contributor the Bears signed in free agency. “From Day 1 of training to to Week 15 or whenever he stopped practicing [because of a shoulder injury], he gave it his all, and I’m looking at myself like, ‘This dude’s still got it.’”
Allen is coming off another Pro Bowl season with the Chargers, with 108 receptions for 1,248 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games before missing the final four games with a shoulder injury. Allen’s 95.6 yards per game was fifth in the NFL last season.
It remains to be seen if Allen is a short-term or long-term addition to the Bears. He’s on the final year of a four-year, $80 million contract he signed with the Chargers in 2020. He’ll turn 32 next month. And he’s missed 11 games in the past two seasons because of injury. But Ogbongbemiga was notably effusive about Allen still being solidly in his prime.
“He’s got a lot of years [left] in the tank. That’s what people don’t understand,” Ogbongbemiga said. “They might look at his age and question him, but he’s got the juice. He’s going to bring some special moments to the city of Chicago. They are going to love him.”
Ogbongbemiga, in fact, echoed the excitement Bears fans felt when the Bears announced the trade for Allen. Receivers of his caliber rarely play here. His 10,530 career receiving yards with the Chargers are nearly double the Johnny Morris’ career receiving mark for the Bears (5,059).
“I’m excited. I couldn’t hold my smile in when I saw the news,” Ogbongbemiga said. “I was like, I couldn’t believe I’d be joining up with him again. It’s just one of those dudes you play with and you’re excited you play with and you want to say that, ‘I played with Keenan Allen.’ He’s that type of player. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to get another opportunity to play with him.”
The acquisition of a veteran like Allen supports speculation that the Bears will take a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft — presumably USC’s Caleb Williams. As Ogbongbemiga noted, a proven, dependable receiver such as Allen can be a huge help to a rookie quarterback.
“Yeah — he’s always open,” Ogbongbemiga said. “It doesn’t matter who’s throwing him the ball. He’s gonna be open. So as long as the guy can get the ball to him, it doesn’t matter who it is, he’s going to find the void in the defense if you’re playing zone; if you’re in man coverage, he’s gonna beat you.
“I think he’s the most quarterback-friendly guy and that says a lot about him. I’m sure he’s going to be missed a lot back in L.A. But he’s a quarterback-friendly guy and he’s gonna get a lot of targets and bring in a lot of receptions.”
