Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen watches Southern California’s NFL Pro Day on March 20.
Ryan Sun/AP
ORLANDO, Fla. — New Bears receiver Keenan Allen is “an absolute perfect fit” for a rookie quarterback, general manager Ryan Poles said Monday.
“I don’t think there’s a better receiver in the league that can be better for a young quarterback in terms of understanding the NFL, timing, space, reading defenses,” Poles said at the league’s annual meeting. “So I think that’s a great addition.”
Poles sent the Chargers a fourth-round pick for Allen earlier this month with the intent of helping his rookie quarterback — likely, USC’s Caleb Williams. The Bears were monitoring the Chargers’ salary cap crunch and decided to engage in trade talks when it was clear Allen, a six-time Pro Bowl player, wouldn’t take a paycut from the only franchise he’d ever known.
“I watched him do some really cool things for a long period of time,” said Poles, whose former team, the Chiefs, once shared a division with Allen. “To watch the tape it actually blew me away of how high of a level he’s still playing at his age.”
He didn’t have to sell Allen on the opportunity ahead.
“Everybody knows what Chicago has for them in opportunity and how great of a city it is — that part’s easy,” Poles told the Sun-Times. “Because of the moves we’ve been making and the progress we’ve been making from a football standpoint, I think these guys are starting to see that this can be a place where special things are going to happen.”
It’s already paying dividends. Allen attended Williams’ pro day — which was near his home in Southern California — decked out in Bears gear.
“I think that speaks volumes about his character,” he said. “I never had to ask the guy to show up anywhere. I certainly didn’t have to ask him to wear Bears stuff. Again, I think that tells us what he’s like.”
The Bears are paying Allen $23.1 million in the last year of his contract, but are interested in keeping him longer than one season. Poles will explore an extension later, saying he might want to reward players who were on the Bears last season first.
“For what he stands for,” he said, “I would love to have him long-term.”