Redskins QB Case Keenum ready for whatever his role becomes

The future

Dwayne Haskins is the future. The Redskins didn’t draft Haskins at No. 15 overall to have him sit. They may say it’s a competition now, but that’s just because they want Haskins to earn it. He will. Haskins is smart, a quick learner, and has the velocity and consistent accuracy, or at least enough of it, to exceed Keenum and eventually thrive. As good as Keenum may have been in his brightest moments in Minnesota, those moments were finite.

In this moment, Dwayne Haskins is the future. But that doesn’t mean Case Keenum can’t be a part of it.

In a material sense, Keenum doesn’t provide anything unique to the Redskins roster. The Redskins don’t need a starter; Haskins has that job. They don’t necessarily need another veteran mentor; Alex Smith is renowned and revered in that area. But while Smith recovers from an impossible injury, and while Colt McCoy returns to health, Keenum is the buffer between stability and entropy.

Keenum is the only one who’s ready if Haskins goes down, and he needs to be prepared. While his last moment is far in the rear view mirror, perhaps his next one could be coming. Whether that’s pointing out a note of importance to Dwayne Haskins in the quarterback room, or showing him a fix for a fundamental flaw, or running onto the field to relieve the rookie in a crucial contest.

There is honor in being a backup. If Keenum’s stint in Washington consists only of him coaching a rookie from the sidelines, then his impact is still great, even if such a role doesn’t attract the most glamor. He’s worked hard to get where he is. He’s battled adversity. Perhaps he’s evolved as a player, and now, with his star fading, he must evolve as a mentor.

But while his title no longer has the flash and ring of a starter, Case Keenum has to be ready for whatever his role could become with the Redskins. And with Keenum, that shouldn’t be a problem. Keenum’s career has been anything but predictable. At every fork in the road, Keenum has been ready. When the Texans called on him in his rookie year to start for Matt Schaub. When the dysfunction-ridden Rams asked for competence to keep themselves afloat. And when the Vikings needed a certain kind of signal caller to keep their playoff hopes alive.

In every moment, Keenum, while he hasn’t always succeeded, has been ready. In D.C., nothing should be different.