Bears Trade Jared Allen To Panthers

In the first big name trade of this young NFL season, the Chicago Bears have traded veteran defensive end Jared Allen to the Carolina Panthers.

The 33-yeard-old pass rusher has not looked himself since joining the Bears in 2014, racking up only 5.5 sacks in 18 games played and struggling to be a force within the team’s conventional 3-4 defense.

However, in perhaps another example of draft picks being highly overvalued in the NFL, the Panthers only gave up a sixth-round pick for the man who will at least enter the Hall of Very Good by the end of his career.

Allen is not quite the every-down threat he once was, although he has been good for 5 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass deflected through three games this season. Allen is yet to record a sack in 2015, but may find his niche again once the core of the Panthers’ front seven returns.

For now, though, Allen will be expected to hold down the ship as D-lineman Charles Johnson continues to nurse a hamstring injury and superstar linebacker Luke Kuechly awaits the all clear to return from a concussion that has kept him sidelined for the past two weeks.

But frankly – defensive scheme and production aside – Allen is probably happy just to leave the dumpster fire that is the Chicago Bears. In one day, his team’s record has improved from 0-3 to 3-0, giving him a chance to possibly end his career with a Super Bowl contender.

As for the Bears, the fire sale has appeared to have already started, and it’s unknown just how far the team will go in a rebuilding process that seemingly can’t wait until the offseason.