The Indianapolis Colts are bringing in some veteran wide receiver help. The Colts are expected to sign six-time Pro-Bowler Keenan Allen to a one-year deal worth up to $8.3 million, according to multiple reports. Allen has spent 12 of his 13 NFL seasons with the Chargers organization, first in San Diego and then in Los Angeles.
He spent the 2024 season with the Chicago Bears before returning to L.A. for 2025. He's racked up 1,055 catches for 12,051 yards and 70 touchdowns during that time. Allen has a connection to the Colts through coach Shane Steichen, who was on the Chargers' staff from 2014 through 2020, serving as an offensive quality control assistant, quarterbacks coach and finally offensive coordinator.
For the Colts, it's clear that they needed wide receiver help. Their depth chart beyond starters Alec Pierce and Josh Downs is somewhat barren: it looked like Ashton Dulin, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and some combination of Laquon Treadwell, Anthony Gould and seventh-round pick Deion Burks would be the next men up beyond the top two. That's not exactly an inspiring group of players.
Throw in the fact that Pierce has yet to return to training-camp practices as he works his way back from an ankle injury that required surgery and a platelet-rich plasma injection, and the situation seems even more dire. When you also add the fact that Downs has already missed some time during camp, you begin to see why the Colts would be concerned about the strength of the room. What's less clear is how much Allen can actually help and whether he's the best fit for what the Colts need if Pierce remains on the sidelines.
Allen is now 34 years old, and he's coming off a season where he averaged a career-low 45.7 receiving yards per game. He's also essentially a short-area-only option at this point in his career, which gives him a lot of overlap with Downs, not Pierce. Downs is the slot man for the Colts, while Pierce is more of a field-stretcher.
Both Downs and second-year tight end Tyler Warren work the short and intermediate areas of the field well, but the Colts don't have anyone else who can threaten defenses deep down the field in the same way that Pierce can. Pierce had the second-most receptions on passes of 15-plus yards last season, according to Tru Media, racking up 28 of them on 52 targets. By contrast, Allen caught just six of his 19 such targets in 2025.
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