When the Chicago Bears traded for six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen earlier this offseason, it was a surprise to everyone.
It wasn’t a surprise to see the veteran leave the Los Angeles Chargers after 11 years of record-breaking service. Nor was it a surprise seeing the Bears landing the star play-maker. The biggest surprise was seeing the Bears land Allen for a fourth round pick.
When the deal was announced, fans of every other NFL team was outraged and wondering why their team wasn’t involved in the trade talks after seeing the needed compensation to pry Allen away. On Wednesday, we found out another team wasn’t only involved in trade talks, but they also came close to stealing Allen from the Bears.
According to ESPN Insider Jeremy Fowler, the Houston Texans were the other team who got close to landing Allen this offseason.
“The belief in league circles is the Texans were committed to getting an established veteran receiver this offseason. They first tried with Keenan Allen, who was traded from the Los Angeles Chargers to the Chicago Bears on March 14,” Fowler said via ESPN. “A source close to Allen said the Texans got ‘very close’ to dealing for the receiver.”
Instead of landing Allen, the Texans were forced to wait weeks until landing a prized veteran wide receiver of their own in Stefon Diggs and things honestly worked out better that way for both sides.
With a rookie quarterback, the Bears needed someone who could become a reliable, sure-handed, target for Caleb Williams to look for in key situations. Allen fits that description perfectly and can continue doing so after returning to the field in Week 4.
As for the Texans, the team needed another big-time pass catcher to pair well with Nico Collins who could move all over the formation to create different looks for opposing defenses. Diggs is able to do that while also being another alpha target for second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud.
At the end of the day, both teams got what they were searching for at the position. Through four weeks, things do look better for the Texans with Diggs totaling 25 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns while Allen missed two of the four games. But, we’ll see how things continue to looks throughout the remainder of the season.
