Wide receiver Keenan Allen has played 12 of his 13 NFL seasons for the Chargers.
General manager Joe Hortiz won't rule out adding another to the tally.
"Right now we're in a spot where we're looking at the roster and letting these young guys get a chance, but I've had some communication with Keenan's representation," Hortiz said Thursday on when asked about potentially bringing the wideout back. "We talk. Right now, our guys that we have here, we're letting them grow and develop, but nothing but love for Keenan. That door is not closed."
The Chargers similarly left a light on for Allen last offseason, waiting until August to reunite with him on a one-year deal following his single-season hiatus with the Bears. Allen returned to the place he spent his first 11 NFL seasons and led the team with 81 receptions, which he turned into 777 yards and four touchdowns.
Taking another go at a Super Bowl together would make sense given his production, but Allen, now 34, did fade following an early season flourish. After eclipsing 60 receiving yards and catching a TD in each of his first three games back with Los Angeles, he hit the 60-yard mark just once more the rest of the way, during the same game he tallied his lone score beyond Week 3.
L.A.'s entire WR corps trended hot and cold, though, a symptom of a talented room led by Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston. With Allen back in town, McConkey's numbers dipped from his stellar first year. Tre Harris, a 2025 second-rounder, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, a fifth-rounder turned preseason darling, never truly found their footing.
As Hortiz alluded to, youngsters like Harris and Lambert-Smith can use the current stage of the offseason program to further establish themselves in the operation. The same goes for Brenen Thompson, a fourth-rounder from April's draft whose speed Hortiz described to Kay Adams as "significant."
Therefore, there is no rush to get a veteran like Allen on the field and take away developmental snaps from others. He knows how to prepare himself for the season.
A more pressing matter -- assuming the Bolts eventually decide to pursue Allen seriously -- would be keeping him away from other teams.
After Adams floated the possibility of Allen joining the hated Chiefs, Hortiz made it clear the organization has no desire to "see him in the red."
As for whether he'll again don the powder blues, the wait continues.
