{"id":226464,"date":"2025-04-05T15:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T19:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=226464"},"modified":"2025-04-05T09:07:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T13:07:07","slug":"chargers-keenan-allen-jim-harbaugh-reunion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/04\/05\/chargers-keenan-allen-jim-harbaugh-reunion\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers Coach: “Would Be Cool” To Sign Top Free Agent – Chiefs, Panthers Could Intervene"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran free agent Keenan Allen is one of the best players still on the market, and he could return to the Chargers in the coming days. A third-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft<\/a>, Allen became one of the greatest players in franchise history and established himself as the top option for both Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert. However, he carried a bloated cap hit in 2024, and first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh traded him to the Chicago Bears early in his tenure. However, this was purely a financial decision, as the coach recently indicated he’d welcome Allen to Los Angeles with open arms.<\/p>\n

Saying that it “would be cool<\/a>” to reunite with the free agent, the Chargers could see what Keenan Allen has left in his tank. However, they probably won’t be the only teams interested in his services. While he might have to wait until after the 2025 NFL Draft to find a new home, teams like the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs could use someone with his level of experience.<\/p>\n

Jim Harbaugh: “Would Be Cool” For Keenan Allen to Sign With Chargers<\/h2>\n

The Los Angeles Chargers entered the offseason with a glaring need at wide receiver and plenty of cap space. However, while the team used their money to upgrade the offensive line<\/a> and running game, they didn’t do much to improve Justin Herbert’s supporting cast. Mike Williams is back after a disappointing 2024 with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, but he’s not enough to fix this passing attack. Ladd McConkey can be a legitimate WR1, but this team needs a proper starter to complement his abilities. Williams and first-round pick Quentin Johnston are better off in smaller roles, and Allen could be the perfect choice for the job.<\/p>\n

Keenan Allen didn’t look like his old self with the Bears, but a return to the Chargers could bring out the best in him. In 2023, the wide receiver finished the season with a staggering 108 receptions for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns. He obviously has a strong rapport with Justin Herbert, which means he shouldn’t struggle to adjust to new coaching. Even if that version of Allen is gone, he still had a respectable 744 yards last year.<\/p>\n

Other Fits<\/h3>\n

If Keenan Allen doesn’t join the Chargers, he could join their longtime rivals. The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver room is one of the most high-risk, high-reward units in the league. If Rashee Rice returns to health<\/a>, Marquise Brown plays a full season, and Xavier Worthy builds on an up-and-down rookie season<\/a>, then this room should be good enough to support Patrick Mahomes. However, that’s a lot of ‘if’s’ and Kansas City could use a veteran presence like Allen to ensure there’s at least one or two reliable sets of hands next year.<\/p>\n

The 2025 NFL Draft class is weak at the wide receiver position, which means the Carolina Panthers could target Keenan Allen if they miss on someone like Tet McMillan<\/a>. While Carolina has some promising young players in Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker, they could use another proven veteran. Adam Thielen isn’t getting any younger, and Keenan Allen could be a more productive player at this stage in their respective careers.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Daniel Bartel – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After trading him to the Chicago Bears in 2024, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said he’d welcome a Keenan Allen reunion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":226465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,30,16],"tags":[7642,7811,1652,504,32330,1670,7661],"class_list":["post-226464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chargers","category-panthers","category-chiefs","tag-chargers-featured","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-jim-harbaugh","tag-keenan-allen","tag-ladd-mcconkey","tag-mike-williams","tag-panthers-featured"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226464"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":226466,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226464\/revisions\/226466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}