Chargers GM Joe Hortiz discusses Keenan Allen decision: 'I knew who I was trading'

New Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz's first massive decision came early in his tenure: to trade longtime great Keenan Allen to Chicago for a fourth-round draft pick.

Hortiz said Thursday that he didn't love parting with the player, but financials forced a hard decision.

"Yeah, I knew who I was trading," Hortiz said, via the team's official website. "He's a very talented player and I respect him as a player, as a person. It's difficult when you have to cut a player, trade a player, release a player.

"It's always difficult for a player like him certainly, but it creates an opportunity for other players to step up," Hortiz continued. "Again, we're not done building that room out so we're going to look to continue to add pieces to that room."

Hortiz said the club approached Allen and his reps with "multiple different options," including an extension, but noted "just none of them worked out."

"I think when you're talking about trading Keenan specifically, yeah that's not a decision you make with no acknowledgment of, 'This is a talented player that can still compete,'" Hortiz added.

Allen's agent later responded on social media, saying, "Only one offer was made. It was a pay cut for 2024 with a two-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 (Allen)."

The situation feels very "this is business in the NFL."

Both sides wanted to remain paired. But the new Chargers brass desired to get the books in order, and Allen, coming off the best statistical season of his career, had no desire to take a pay cut at 32 years old. Neither is unjustified in their position. Business is business.

The GM isn't