Eleven years ago, 904 catches, 10,530 receiving yards and 59 touchdowns, Keenan Allen was thinking about quitting football.

On September 9, 2013, Allen played in the first NFL game of his career – or so he thought. The third-round rookie was active but never saw the field. He did not play a single snap in the San Diego Chargers’ 31-28 loss to the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football.

He decided that if the Chargers were going to redshirt him and bench him, he would pursue a different career – from football to music.

“It was the first time I had to watch a game without playing,” said Allen The athlete last week. “It wasn’t fun.”

From the softly speaking telephone receiver, it sounds as if the frustration has been brewing for over a decade.

“Not really,” he said, before adding, “A little bit.”

The following week in Philadelphia, Allen was able to put his music career on hold again. In the third quarter, he caught an 18-yard pass from Philip Rivers and fought through a defensive pass interference penalty that was declined. He added a 16-yard pass reception. Instead of being a role player, he was suddenly in the thick of things.

“I am the man,” he said, “he thought immediately.”

Since that night on the sidelines in San Diego, Allen has had a successful career, catching a pass in every game but one. Last year in Minnesota, at age 31, he caught 18 passes for 215 yards, a career-high.

Six weeks later, at the Meadowlands, Allen contorted his body and reached up with one hand to catch a pass on the third and fourth attempt, something he had done many times in his career. But this catch was special – he managed over 10,000 yards in his career.

ARE YOU SERIOUS, KEENAN?

📺: @espn pic.twitter.com/nSmXEEfIEf

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) 7 November 2023

“It was kind of a wheel route. The two outside receivers intercepted the ball twice. It was the third down, so I knew the ball was coming to me,” Allen said. “They played man. I had a good view, he threw a great ball, I caught it great. … It was a pretty good moment.”

As Allen prepares for the opening game of the season in a new uniform for the first time, he reflects on what he has accomplished and what it means to be part of this Bears team at this point in his career – a career that almost didn’t happen.

“That’s one of the reasons you keep going, because it could have been over,” he said. “You’re lucky to still be able to play.”

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Caleb Williams was 11 years old when Allen was thinking about his football future. So was Rome Odunze. DJ Moore was 16.

Allen said the age difference shows up every day in some way. He had to teach his teammates a few things.

“Michael Jordan, for example,” he said. He said that when his younger teammates watch “old movies,” “they have no idea what they’re seeing.”

Without tight end Marcedes Lewis, the 40-year-old football unicorn, Allen would be The old guy. But he’s only 32. Last season, he set a career high with 95.6 yards per game, breaking the 1,200 mark for the second time in 11 seasons.

He still has it, but what he does is rare. Only three other times in the last decade has a wide receiver who was 31 or older rushed for more than Allen’s 1,243 yards in 2023 – Brandon Marshall, Hall of Famer Andre Johnson and Jordy Nelson.

Another indication of Allen’s longevity? Only four other wide receivers from the 2013 draft are still active – DeAndre Hopkins, Cordarrelle Patterson, Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin.

“A lot of guys (from the 2013 draft) don’t play because of injuries or other reasons,” Allen said. “I was able to stack my seasons, be consistent and be able to be on the field and still be valuable.”

Allen said his 32-year-old self can still create space and shoot opponents out of bounds like the 21-year-old Allen, but this version has more knowledge.

“You can see the game better,” he said. “Everything has slowed down.”

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Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, 24 and in his second season, let out an exasperated “phew” when asked why he had to cover Allen in training camp.

“I think if you play him too close, he’s good enough to make that incredible catch,” he said. “So you have to give him space so he can see which way he’s going. If you push a route too far, he can take it back the other way. And if you play him deep, he’s definitely going too far.

“I think his ability to create distance when necessary is unmatched.”

Tyrique Stevenson and the Bears know how difficult it is to cover Keenan Allen, who had 10 catches against them last season with the Chargers. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

While Allen began his NFL career in Southern California, Shane Waldron was in the Northeast, then tight ends coach for UMass, and it would be another three years before he would join Washington’s staff along with Sean McVay.

“He was the guy you heard about that was always free,” said Waldron, the Bears’ offensive coordinator. “His route-running ability … put aside anything you want to say about measurables, and he’s just going to run free and catch the ball.”

When Waldron was part of the Rams coaching staff, they had joint practices with the Chargers and he was able to witness Allen’s mastery of the route game in person.

“You see his feel and ability to run any route in the book,” he said. “It’s because of his own body style and the way he can pile up reps and run them against different coverages and looks each time.”

Now Allen can use his skills in an offense that features Moore, Odunze, running back D’Andre Swift and tight ends Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett.

When he was told that if you just took Keenan Allen from 2019 to 2023, that five-season Allen player would be the Bears’ all-time leading receiving yards player, Allen’s response was about the group around him.

“The sky’s the limit,” he said. “We can definitely push the envelope here. I’m pretty sure we will.”

.@Keenan13Allenis already a fan favorite pic.twitter.com/o6I3mZI2E3

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) July 27, 2024

Four years ago, Allen was experiencing another hype. The Chargers, now in Los Angeles, had their successor for Rivers, a rookie quarterback named Justin Herbert. He saw a quarterback “who can do anything you ask of him on the field and lead the guys.”

That magnifying glass is nothing compared to what Williams will experience, as the No. 1 pick, as the opening day starter for the only NFL team in town. But Allen can use what he experienced with the Chargers and Herbert as one of the many, many lessons he can impart to his rookie quarterback.

“No matter what they expect or what the expectations are, you have to go out and play,” he said. “The other teams feel the same way we do. Everyone wants the Super Bowl. Everyone believes they’re going to win the Super Bowl. The best team is going to win, you just have to go out and do what you’re supposed to do.”

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At the start of his twelfth training camp, Allen was in a crisis.

“It didn’t work out,” he said. “I didn’t get many passes and things like that.”

That wasn’t necessarily unusual. Allen said he usually has a moment in camp where he has to remind himself of who he is and what he’s capable of.

So he watches old highlight videos of Keenan Allen – particularly the highlights of his college career at Cal.

“I just have to get aggressive again and regain my confidence,” he said.

On Aug. 20, the most intense and physical day of training camp, Allen dominated, catching six of Williams’ nine completed passes in 11-on-11 drills.

He’s still got it.

A normal season for Keenan Allen would allow him to reach another milestone. Allen has made over 100 catches in five of the last seven seasons and needs 96 to reach 1,000 catches.

Only 14 players have ever accomplished this feat. If he does it, he will overtake names like Torry Holt, Derrick Mason, Andre Reed, Antonio Gates and Randy Moss.

When he hears these names, Allen thinks of their legacy.

“Hall of Fame,” he said. “The greats. Those who came before me paved the way. Physically, too, they were unmatched.”

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Allen will play the final year of his contract in his first year with a new team. Maybe he’ll only stay in Chicago for one season, but if so, he’ll be part of the best receiver trio the Bears have had in at least a decade, if not ever.

Having Moore and Odunze by his side is a great start to the twelfth year of a career that almost never began.

“This is huge. I’m used to being doubled,” he said, “so good luck with that this year.”

(Top photo: Nick Cammett / Diamond Images via Getty Images)