After a career year with the Minnesota Vikings, it’s possible the quarterback could be starting under center for a different team in 2018.
When the Minnesota Vikings signed Case Keenum to a one-year, $2 million deal last March, not a single person within the organization envisioned the quarterback having the kind of season he did in 2017. And if they said they did, then they’re lying.
Coming off a 2016 season with the Los Angeles Rams in which he was benched for a rookie, neither the Vikings or Keenum knew if he would be even on Minnesota’s active roster to begin the year. But the quarterback beat-out Taylor Heinicke for the team’s backup job behind Sam Bradford and it turned out to be a great decision by the Vikings.
Two weeks into the season, Keenum was already in the starting lineup after Bradford went down with a knee injury. His first start in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was the definition of ugly, but Keenum soon found his groove in Minnesota’s offense after a few more starts.
Fast forward to the end of the season and the Vikings quarterback finished with an 11-3 record as a starter throwing for 22 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and averaging 236.5 passing yards per game.
Keenum will be an unrestricted free-agent when the new league year begins in March and it’s possible that his home will not be in Minnesota next season. Who are some of the other teams the quarterback could end up with in 2018 if a return to the Vikings does not work out?
Jacksonville Jaguars:
When the Jaguars drafted Blake Bortles with the third-overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the team thought they had just selected their starting quarterback for the next 10 seasons (at the very least). But Bortles performance since arriving to Jacksonville has not exactly had the team’s fans viewing him as a franchise savior.
The 25-year-old quarterback is scheduled to earn almost $20 million in 2018. Obviously, Bortles says he wants to be back next season, but do the Jaguars want to go through another year of cringing every time he steps back to throw?
Instead, Jacksonville could show Bortles the door and go after a quarterback like Case Keenum. How different would the Jaguars’ 2017 season have been if Keenum was the one starting under center?
Jacksonville only has around $20 million in cap space right now, but releasing Bortles would free up almost $20 million more, giving them plenty of money to afford whatever price Keenum’s agent believes he’s worth.
Arizona Cardinals:
For the past few years, the Cardinals have been trying to squeeze as much out of Carson Palmer’s fading career as they could. Well after the 2017 season, Palmer’s time in the NFL and with Arizona finally came to a close as the 38-year-old quarterback announced his retirement in January.
With Palmer retiring, the Cardinals now have no quarterbacks under contract for the 2018 season. Blaine Gabbert and Drew Stanton both started in a few games for Arizona last year and each will now be unrestricted free-agents this offseason, along with Matt Barkley.
The Cardinals could be a good situation for Case Keenum to land in. Talented Arizona running back David Johnson will be able to take a lot of the pressure off of Keenum and not make him feel like he has to do too much in the offense.
Denver Broncos:
Case Keenum’s first two seasons in the NFL were spent with the Houston Texans under head coach Gary Kubiak. Now, Kubiak has a prominent role in the Denver Broncos’ front office and he may want to bring back his old quarterback.
Keenum landing with the Broncos just depends on what route the team wants to take when figuring out who their starting signal caller will be in 2018. Denver has been included in the potential destinations for free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins and it’s possible the team also choose to select a quarterback in this year’s NFL Draft.
If the Broncos and Kubiak believe Keenum can continue to play like he did in 2017, then he may just end up being their starter for next season.
Cleveland Browns:
Due to how much cap space they are scheduled to have this offseason (more than $100 million), the Browns are going to be in the discussion as a potential landing spot for a number of free-agents in 2018.
With Cleveland, Case Keenum would not only get be able to get a big money contract, but he would more than likely have the opportunity to start next season without hesitation. The Browns are coming off a year in which the team didn’t taste a victory even once, so anything different under center in 2018 would really be an upgrade.
Next: Where will Sam Bradford end up in 2018?
At least with Keenum, Cleveland would be getting a quarterback who has actually won a game in the playoffs. The Browns haven’t had a starting quarterback with at least one career playoff victory since Jake Delhomme played for the team in 2010.