Keenan Allen said his heel injury feels better than it did leading into the season opener, and the veteran wide receiver is expected to play Sunday after sitting out the last two games.
The Chicago Bears listed Allen as questionable for the noon game at Soldier Field against the Los Angeles Rams, but he was a full participant in practice for the first time since before the Sept. 8 opener.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Allen said. “Today felt good.”
A heel injury sidelined Allen for the final four games last season with the Los Angeles Chargers, and the issue popped up again during training camp just before the Aug. 17 preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Initially, coach Matt Eberflus said Allen was having issues with a cleat.
The team attempted to manage Allen’s practice time with hope the heel would feel better, and he was in a good enough spot to start against the Tennessee Titans. But he tried to stop in the end zone late in the game on a Caleb Williams overthrow at the end of a broken play.
“It’s been hurting since training camp,” Allen explained. “I was just able to run through it. Just a heel at that point, just like a bruise, kind of like a spur on the heel. Obviously, tried to stop in the end zone and then it went to the plantar fasciitis.
“I’d rather it happen now than the end of the season. That was the main thing of resting an extra week just making sure we put this beside us and be able to be healthy for the rest of the season.”
Allen should help Williams in the middle of the field, and if he can make a couple of key plays on third down — the Bears are tied for 23rd in the league with a 33.3% conversion rate — it would serve as a reminder of why general manager Ryan Poles traded a fourth-round pick to acquire the 12th-year veteran.
“To have a guy obviously as we know, Keenan Allen back, it’s going to be great for our offense,” Williams said this week. “It’s just something else that the defense has to worry about throughout this week and then obviously on game day. And so it’s going to be great for us. His special talent of getting open in a phone booth is going to be great for us.”
Williams was locked in to Allen in the 24-17 victory against the Titans. He targeted Allen 11 times, and the receiver was on the field for only 38 snaps (28.9%). Allen thinks they will get on the same page pretty quickly.
“I think we’ll be fine,” he said. “Football is football. I’ve been playing for a little while now. Hopefully, I can get to my spots.”
The bigger issue is whether the two weeks for Allen will be enough to put the issue behind him. The injury is closer to the heel than running along the bottom of the foot, so the belief is that will make it easier for him to recover and then stay on the field.
“That’s why we’ve been playing it safe,” Allen said.
Wide receivers coach Chris Beatty isn’t concerned it will be difficult for a rookie quarterback and a player who has missed significant practice time — going on six weeks — to connect.
“Keenan has done everything, seen everything,” Beatty said. “And he knows exactly what role he fits. He can do that without a bunch of (practice) reps.”
