Multiple Members of Chargers Not Happy With Decision to Trade Keenan Allen
The NFL world was shocked last night, as the Los Angeles Chargers decided to trade away star WR Keenan Allen. In the wake of the team attempting to make space for cap room purposes, Allen refused to take a pay cut—resulting in his immediate trade.
The Chargers recently made plenty of cap room by restructuring the contracts of star defenders Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack—both of whom are staying with the team. However, when the team approached Allen about doing the same, he declined.
To be fair, he is the most player on the roster next to Mack, so it's not at all surprising he declined to take a pay cut. Allen put up 1,243 and 7 TDs despite suffering an injury towards the latter half of the season.
Allen might be turning 32, but he is still one of the best pass-catchers in the league. The choice to trade him stunned a lot of people, including many of his teammates who voiced their displeasure with the move on X.
Fellow WR Derius Davis took to X to simply put up a crying face emoji. That is a feeling that many fans and players are feeling right now.
Running back Elijah Dotson also said "hell no" to the news. Unfortunately, the trade has gone through, so saying no to it is fruitless.
Cornerback Ja'Sir Taylor also used a crying emoji to indicate that he was not happy with the trade as well.
Understandably, Allen being traded has sent a shockwave through the Chargers organization. He was a consummate leader on and off the field. He has spent his 11 years in the NFL playing for the Bolts, and it will be increasingly odd to see him in another jersey.
The game of football can be cruel at times, and the business side of things can rear its ugly head when fans don't want it too. The Chargers were in a bit of a bad spot with their cap space and had attempted to keep their core stars together while they figured out how to build for the Harbaugh era.
Sadly, Keenan Allen will not be part of that new era.
