Bears WR expected to play in Week 1

Come on. You don’t have Really You didn't expect Keenan Allen to miss Caleb Williams' regular season debut?

Allen, who was limited in practice earlier this week due to a heel injury, is expected to play in Sunday's game between the Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans. ESPN's Adam Schefter has the news:

If Bears head coach Matt Eberflus believes Keenan Allen will play, and Schefty reports it, why shouldn't I expect Allen to be at his best on Sunday? Allen's participation was listed as questionable on the Bears' injury report Friday, but there was never any real doubt he would play.

Keenan Allen is about to make his debut with the Chicago Bears

There's obviously an obsession with the idea that tomorrow will be the debut of the starting quarterback. But let's not forget that Sunday's game is Keenan Allen's Bears debut. One of general manager Ryan Poles' most spectacular moves was trading Allen. Nobody really saw it coming. But with the Los Angeles Chargers struggling with a salary cap crunch, Poles and the Bears sent a fourth-round pick west to bring Allen to Chicago. Considering Allen's resume, that's a steal in my book.

If you don’t know Keenan Allen’s resume, here’s the short version:

Perhaps the most underrated fact about Keenan Allen is that he knows what it takes for a receiver to develop a rookie quarterback.

MORE: Insights into the Chicago Bears' Keenan Allen trade

Allen was a top target for Justin Herbert's maiden voyage in 2020. The veteran receiver managed 100 catches, 992 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 14 games. When targeting Allen, Herbert completed 69.1 percent of his passes (96/139) for 955 yards. Herbert threw eight touchdowns to five interceptions and posted a passer rating of 92.5 when throwing the ball Allen's way. In other words, I have the utmost confidence in Caleb Williams every time he throws the ball Allen's way. History shows that good things happen to rookie quarterbacks who do this.

We will report more about the Bears and their players, whose game status is still uncertain, on Sunday morning.