The Denver Broncos will reportedly make free agent quarterback Case Keenum an offer. Will he be the next quarterback of this team?
The man expected to become the next starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos by many is free agent Case Keenum, a man of humble beginnings with just one offer as an undrafted free agent out of Houston in 2011 with the Houston Texans.
Keenum played the best season of his life last season for the Minnesota Vikings, throwing for over 3,400 yards and 22 touchdowns with just seven interceptions.
If the Broncos had that kind of quarterback play last year, I don’t think we’d be talking about a five-win team.
While Von Miller and some of the other players in Denver seem to have set their sights on Kirk Cousins, it seems as though Keenum is the far more likely option at this point so what does that mean for the Broncos?
Denver is reportedly expected to make Keenum an offer when they are legally allowed to at 10 AM MDT:
For those of us still holding out hopes for Kirk Cousins, don’t hold your breath. Barring something unforeseen, it really does seem like Cousins will whittle his list down to just the Minnesota Vikings sooner rather than later.
That could change if Cousins is willing to grant the Broncos a face-to-face meeting. Denver’s front office certainly has a good relationship with Cousins’ agency, but if Cousins already has his mind made up, there’s no reason to waste anyone’s time.
If the Broncos fool around with Cousins for too long, they could miss out on Keenum.
The issue I take with a Keenum signing is pretty simple.
If you sign Keenum to a multi-year contract at, say, $16 million per season, you cannot justify that type of price tag sitting on your bench and a rookie being drafted at number five overall.
And make no mistake — if the Broncos sign Keenum to a short-term deal, they would almost be forced into taking a quarterback with the fifth overall pick.
If the Broncos are truly interested in Keenum, they should give him a four-year deal and build around him. It’s too much money to invest, otherwise.
Keenum, at $16 million average salary per season, would be the 32nd highest paid player in the NFL. You don’t pay backups that kind of money. You also don’t draft guys in the top five overall to sit.
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The Chicago Bears proved how fruitless that plan was, wasting time getting Mitch Trubisky on the field. The Bears also had way more cap space than the Broncos did last offseason.
Personally, I hate the idea of signing Keenum and drafting someone at quarterback with the fifth overall pick. Unless the Broncos are able to get a ridiculously low cap hit in 2018 (which would push a higher cap hit to 2019 or beyond), it doesn’t make any sense to me to allocate your top two resources this offseason to the same exact position.
To me, it’s no different than if the Cleveland Browns were to use the first and fourth overall pick on the quarterback position.
We’ll see how everything works out. I really like Keenum as a player and person, but the price tag and the alleged plans of the Broncos to draft a quarterback at number five overall despite signing him have me a little nervous about the team’s ability to construct a long-term plan.