Keenan Allen doesn't plan on going anywhere. The veteran wide receiver wants to stay with the Los Angeles Chargers going forward and says he can't picture himself leaving the team.
Allen, who comes with a $34.71 million cap hit against the Chargers, is hopeful he can remain with the franchise that selected him in the 2013 NFL Draft.
"Yeah. Absolutely," Allen said, via NFL.com, when asked at the Pro Bowl Games if he believes he will stay in L.A. "I don't see myself going anywhere."
In 13 games, the 31-year-old had a career-high 108 receptions on 150 targets along with 1,243 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Allen certainly had a solid year, earning himself a spot in the Pro Bowl Games, but coming off a great season and declaring you want to stay is just sometimes not enough.
The Chargers will have to look at the business side of things, as they have negative-$44,023 million in cap space, per Over the Cap, which is the fourth worst in the league. Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa and Mike Williams all have plus-$30 million cap hits next season, meaning some tough decisions may need to be made.
The team has an exciting season coming up, with new head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is fresh off winning a national title with Michigan, taking over. Los Angeles has not lived up to its potential in the Justin Herbert era and is hoping this major coaching change will ignite the spark it needs to be a winning franchise.
Allen has spoken to Harbaugh and says the head coach recognizes the veteran leadership the wide receiver brings to a team.
"He's been watching for a long time, and we actually played against each other: Stanford-Cal," Allen said. "He just wants me to continue to be a leader. Continue to be who I am. And he's going to do his job."
When asked about how the Chargers can turn things around, Allen said, "We're going to continue to compete. Do what we do and put some better results out there."
The Chargers had the second-worst record last season, finishing 5-12 and last in the AFC West. Their last playoff appearance was in 2022 and their last playoff win was in 2018.
