Chargers' Allen expects to be ready for training camp
The Los Angeles Chargers should have their No. 1 receiver back in the mix long before the 2017 season gets underway.
Continuing to work through a rehab from an ACL tear suffered in Week 1, Keenan Allen told Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times that he expects to be ready by training camp this summer.
Though the 24-year-old's previous target appeared to be OTAs, which are scheduled to begin during the first week of April, he explained there's no need to rush himself into full participation for spring workouts.
"I'm not trying to kill myself. There's still a long time until the season," Allen said. "I'm definitely trying to just keep getting stronger and then just try to be there for the whole season for my team."
Allen's healthy return to the lineup will be a major development for the Chargers' passing game. If he's indeed back at full strength after a pair of lengthy absences, he'll have every opportunity to continue his ascent toward a standing among the NFL's elite receivers.
The former third-round pick had been enjoying a stellar 2015 campaign before a lacerated kidney forced him to miss the final two months of the year, racking up an impressive 67 receptions for 725 yards and four touchdowns over the first eight games.
He hauled in six catches for 63 yards in the Chargers' 2016 opener against the Kansas City Chiefs before sustaining the season-ending knee injury.