Bears WR Keenan Allen: I wanted to 'finish my career' with Chargers but 'things happen'

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was published before the Chicago Bears agreed to trade quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.

Keenan Allen is ready for the Windy City, even if he never thought he'd leave Los Angeles.

The perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver spent his entire NFL career with the Chargers before Thursday's trade, racking up over 900 receptions and 10,000 receiving yards in powder blue thanks to a route-running dominance that is now expected to help the Bears turn the franchise around.

"I'm definitely excited about the new opportunity," Allen said Saturday in his introductory news conference. "Being with a new organization, this organization has a lot of tradition. Obviously wanted to finish my career [with the Chargers], but things happen and you've got to keep on going."

The surprising trade out of L.A. came to pass after the team approached Allen about a pay cut, which he refused. An entirely new Chargers brass led by head coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz didn't have the same loyalty toward Allen others might after seeing him blossom from a 2013 third-round pick when the club was still in San Diego to one of the league's premier wideouts 11 seasons later.

Hortiz and Harbaugh inherited a Chargers team in cap trouble, and made a business decision. Allen, too, approached the request to restructure from a place removed of emotion.

"There really was no emotion, it was, I'm not doing it," he said. "I'm not doing it. Came off my best season, so it's not happening."

The process led Chicago to land a game-changing wide receiver via trade for the second straight offseason.

Allen, who turns 32 in April, inarguably put together his most impressive campaign in 2023. Despite sitting out the