Redskins QB Case Keenum ready for whatever his role becomes
By Ian Cummings
The aftermath
Keenum’s career year was a polarizing entity. Some saw this as the emergence of a budding star, while others expected a regression back to the mean for Case Keenum. Keenum benefitted from playing with a talented receiving core, a top-flight defense, and an effective offensive coordinator in Minnesota’s Pat Shurmur, but he also dealt with consistent pressure from the offensive line.
It was in the evaluation period of 2018 free agency that Keenum’s moment slowly dissipated. For most in the NFL, Keenum’s 2017 season, as good as it was, did not change what he was: A quarterback who could succeed inside a structure, but had natural deficiencies that capped his ceiling. Even in 2017, Keenum’s relative volatility as a player was on display, and few teams wanted to pay starting quarterback money for a player who wasn’t a guarantee.
The Broncos gave Keenum a chance after a short waiting period, signing the Houston alumnus to a two-year, $36 million contract. Keenum was then prepped as the starter for the entire offseason, something he’d never done before. He was given a place on the NFL Top 100 Players list, and heading into the season with exciting receiving options such as Emmanuel Sanders, Courtland Sutton, and DaeSean Hamilton, there was buzz surrounding Keenum’s coming prove-it year.
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In the end, however, what was expected came to pass. Keenum regressed to the mean, providing competence but little else for Vance Joseph’s Broncos. He led the team to a 6-10 final record, throwing for 3,890 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. In the offseason, the Broncos agreed to trade Keenum, and half of his salary, to the Washington Redskins, for a swap of late-round picks in 2019. Once a franchise tag candidate, Keenum had fallen. And now, he awaits his future with the Redskins, a future that is unpredictable, like all the others he’s faced.