Comparing the Case Keenum contract to others in Free Agency
There was a ton of activity on the free agent market on Tuesday, including a lot of quarterback movement. How did Case Keenum’s deal compare with others?
We aren’t officially even to day one of NFL free agency, and already we have some crazy movement on the market with teams and players agreeing to new contracts.
Specifically, the quarterback position has been a fun one to watch develop so far in the free agent market.
The Denver Broncos were at the front of everything, signing Case Keenum in the wee hours of the night to a reported two-year contract worth $36 million.
We’re not certain how that deal is constructed, but the Broncos seemed to get a bargain in Keenum as the day developed for the quarterback market in free agency.
Let’s take a look at some of the quarterback deals signed around the league, and how the Keenum deal (nothing official until Wednesday) compares.
Arizona Cardinals: Sam Bradford signs one year, $20 million deal ($15M guaranteed, one-year, $20 million option); Mike Glennon expected to sign as well…
Of all of the quarterback deals that were agreed to on Tuesday, the contract given to Bradford makes the least sense to me.
This is a guy that cannot stay healthy enough to play on a consistent basis, and yet the Cardinals saw fit to give him $15 million in guaranteed cash. What are the odds he even makes an average of $1 million per game played this season?
The Cardinals were not a great destination for quarterbacks this offseason, and may be forced to overpay to trade up in the draft, or look to next year’s draft class or free agent class for a long-term solution.
If you’re a Cardinals fan and you came away from today with Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon making a total of over $20 million in total guaranteed money (likely), you’ve got to be absolutely sick.
Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins signs three year, $86 million deal (fully guaranteed)
The Minnesota Vikings prioritized Kirk Cousins over any of their other three in-house quarterbacks, and they paid him handsomely.
Cousins was the top fish on the free agent market, and the Vikings reeled him in with a player-friendly, fully guaranteed contract for just three years.
Talk about taking a risk in a championship window…
The Vikings are getting a very good player here, one that I have vouched for on a number of occasions. This is a scary deal for any player, much less the guy you are expecting to put you over the Super Bowl hump.
It could be a precedent for contracts in the NFL, fully guaranteed, shorter term deals, but I don’t know if NFL ownership will adhere to that trend fully before the new CBA in 2020.
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees signs two year, $50 million deal
Drew Brees took a hometown discount to play for the Saints.
In other news, water is wet.
New York Jets: Josh McCown signs one year, $10 million deal; Teddy Bridgewater signs one year deal…
When I saw the reports that McCown was getting $10 million on a one-year contract, I had to do a double take. This guy is going to be 39 in July, and that’s a lot of cash to give someone even on a team that has a ton of cap spaec.
We don’t know the figures on Bridgewater’s deal yet, but I would assume it’s less than $10 million. The Jets reportedly informed McCown he’d be the starting quarterback this year, which makes the Bridgewater signing very curious to me.
The Jets are still likely to draft someone as well.
Denver Broncos: Case Keenum signs two-year, $36 million deal
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When you look at some of the other deals teams in need of a quarterback signed, this one is probably the most favorable in my opinion. Initially, I felt like a contract worth $18 million or more per season would really be a waste for the Broncos, especially if they decided to take a quarterback with their top pick.
But then I look at the other quarterbacks on this list, and I wonder if I would have honestly rather the Broncos had made these other deals.
I don’t think I would.
Even the Cousins deal scares me off because of the fact that it’s only three years.
I think Denver got a bargain in Keenum based on some of these other prices teams are paying for quarterbacks, and I’m interested to see how it’s structured over the course of those two seasons.