The Indianapolis Colts have traded wide receiver Keenan Allen to the San Francisco 49ers just hours before the trade deadline. Any move involving Allen is a victory.
Indianapolis needed a win, too. The team is 2-7 and clearly understands that it isn't going anywhere this season. Why else trade the second-most productive receiver on the team? And why else trade stars, Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner? Now, why not trade other stars, too?
We aren't there yet. The truth is that Allen, who is no longer the receiver with the quickness he once was, should have had no trade value. He is 34 years old, wasn't signed by any team until Indy signed him just before the season began, and has caused himself an off-field legal issue that he will seemingly need to return to Indianapolis to resolve.
Indianapolis Colts trade Keenan Allen to the San Francisco 49ers
No matter. As long as a person can catch passes while playing a sport, he will find a job when other mere mortals might not be able to. It is the nature of football.
In return for Allen, the Colts will receive a sixth-round pick in 2027. The move is a brilliant one for the Colts simply because stacking draft picks in future years is a must. One might have assumed that getting a seventh-round choice for the aged receiver would be a gift. A sixth-rounder feels like Christmas.
Is Keenan Allen a good fit for the 49ers? Absolutely. He might lack high-end speed, but he does know how to find the open spaces in a defense. Plus, the move to San Francisco is a good one for him.
He will go to a team that is almost certainly going to make the playoffs, and he should be extra motivated to perform well. He could be in the final year of his Hall of Fame career and could have a chance to finally win a Super Bowl. Good for him.
As for the Indianapolis Colts, there are no clear winners. The team is struggling at wide receiver, and the players already involved in any kind of production are probably not going to see a huge numbers increase. Maybe rookie Deion Burks sees an increase, but other receivers could have stepped up and didn't.
If anything, Shane Steichen and Daniel Jones are losers. They have one less viable threat to throw the ball to. Not that it really matters. The team was already destined for failure, whether Keenan Allen was traded or not.
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