The Indianapolis Colts are signing veteran wideout Keenan Allen to a one-year deal, adding an experienced player to their wide receiver corps. Allen, a six-time Pro Bowler, is playing on a deal worth up to $8.32 million, reports NFL insider Jordan Schultz. Allen is 34 years old and has spent 12 of his 13 seasons with the Chargers, first in San Diego and then in Los Angeles, with the 2024 season played for the Chicago Bears.
Now, he returns to the Midwest in a Colts jersey, where he'll surely be asked to help shoulder the load left by Michael Pittman Jr., who was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. "Indianapolis traded away an excellent veteran WR leader in Michael Pittman this offseason and now adds Keenan to the room to help fill the veteran void," Schultz said on social media. Allen has more than 12,000 receiving yards in his career, as well as 70 touchdowns, and having an experienced set of hands will be quite useful for quarterback Daniel Jones.
Alec Pierce returns and will be the No. 1 wideout, though he's coming off of surgery on his ankle and will miss training camp. Josh Downs also returns at receiver and adds experience, though the strength of the Colts' offense is likely star running back Jonathan Taylor. Add in second-year tight end Tyler Warren, a first-round draft pick in 2025, and the Colts offense has weapons enough to compete.
They'll be looking for redemption after last season was a tale of two halves. For the first half of the season, the Colts had the most wins in football. They finished that second half, though, with seven straight losses, failing to make the postseason at all.
A lot of that was due to injuries, including to Jones, but he appears to be healthy in training camp. If the Colts can recapture that first-half magic on offense and if the defense, led by stars like cornerback Sauce Gardner, can pull its weight, expect Indianapolis to be competitive in a relatively weak AFC South. Add in the years of experience from Allen and this team could have found the recipe for success.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
