Keenan Allen, Chargers Reportedly Agree to New Contract

The San Diego Chargers reportedly have locked up top receiver Keenan Allen after the wideout emerged as one of the top targets in all of football.

On Friday, Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Allen and the Chargers agreed in principle to a four-year contract worth over $11 million annually. 

On June 7, Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 reported that the "sense is the gap [wasn't] too wide" between the two sides. Garafolo added that San Diego's offer was "north of" $10 million per season after starting at a lower number.

The team had expressed its desire to negotiate an extension in March, per Gehlken. San Diego wanted to wait until after free agency to focus on re-signing Allen.

Allen, a 2013 third-round pick out of California, had one year left on his rookie deal, and the team had about $12 million in cap space, per Spotrac.

In limited action in 2015, Allen was among the NFL's best receivers. In eight games, he totaled 67 catches for 725 yards and four touchdowns. He posted 70-plus catches in each of his first two seasons while hitting the 1,000-yard mark as a rookie in 2013.

The 24-year-old will be a focal point of the offense moving forward. Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said he plans to feature Allen heavily in the passing game, according to Ricky Henne of Chargers.com:

"

He is at the point now where this is an important year because he’s going to be a focal point. He is going to have to win one-on-one matchups. That is something that is a real testament to a receiver. ... There is a lot of talk about him, and he is a good football player. He’s been productive. But it really is going to come down to Keenan being really focused on techniques, details, doing it the right way and seeing if he can do that.

"

Despite losing Allen to a kidney injury, San Diego still ranked fourth in the league in passing yards last season. If Allen can make the improvements Whisenhunt expects, the Chargers could be one of the league's premier passing offenses as long as quarterback Philip Rivers stays healthy.

Statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com.