The Chicago Bears traded for Keenan Allen last year in an attempt to give their then-rookie quarterback Caleb Williams some weapons to throw to. Allen went on to spend just one year in the Windy City and finished his lone year as a Bear with 70 receptions for 744 yards and seven touchdowns.
It wasn't a bad year for the then-32-year-old product, but Allen hit free agency at the end of the year, and Chicago opted not to bring him back. He didn't have much of a market given his age and the up-and-down season he had just put together with the Bears.
Allen went on to make the least shocking move ever and re-signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, the team where he spent the first 11 years of his career, and has now spent 12 of his 13 professional seasons.
Allen has had a magical return to his old team, currently sitting with 52 catches for 539 yards and four touchdowns. He's helped elevate Justin Herbert's game in Los Angeles, and we all knew, on some level, that Allen was eventually always going to return to his old stomping ground.
After Allen became the Chargers' all-time reception leader during their win over the Steelers, the long-time Charger (and one-year Bear) said that he was always going to end up back with the team that drafted him. When asked if the record means more to Allen after the uncertainty of his career trajectory when he was traded to Chicago, Allen dropped a message that Bears fans aren't surprised by.
"I was gonna do whatever I could to come back."
Keenan Allen makes it clear that he wanted to finish his career as a Charger
This isn't a quote that Bears fans should be offended by or anything like that. Allen only insinuated that he wanted to find his way back to Los Angeles, not that he only wanted to play there or hated his time in Chicago.
Even if he did mean it like that, though, would that really be that shocking? He was traded from the Chargers when Jim Harbaugh took over, and then appeared to be on the decline during his one year in Chicago, making him a less popular name in free agency. There was clearly only one place he wanted to go, though, and he got his wish and is now thriving once again.
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Bears fans knew when they got Allen that he was never going to go down in franchise history the way he did for the Chargers. Knowing that he wanted to end back up in Los Angeles all along is the least shocking news ever. Good for him for getting to live out his dream and finish his career with the team he means so much to.