As he awaits next step, Broncos QB Case Keenum shares thoughts on Joe Flacco trade
A year ago at this time, quarterback Case Keenum was a hot commodity.
Keenum was coming off a fine season with the Minnesota Vikings. He ended up getting a two-year, $36 million deal from the Denver Broncos. The $18 million average was tied for 20th in the NFL last season. Keenum had a larger average contract than elite players like Fletcher Cox, Antonio Brown. J.J. Watt and DeAndre Hopkins.
And now he’s likely going to be cast aside.
The Broncos weren’t impressed with Keenum last season, so they agreed to a trade for Joe Flacco. Flacco will likely be the latest quarterback to fail to impress the Broncos and their fans, but GM John Elway is desperate.
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Keenum is reportedly being shopped in a trade and if the Broncos can’t swing a deal, either he’ll be cut or stay as a very expensive backup. It’s a great example of how fast life can change in the NFL, and Keenum said he’s dealing with it the best he can.
Case Keenum was ‘definitely shocked’
Keenum said he was surprised to hear that the Broncos were basically replacing him with Flacco.
“Elway called me that morning and we had a great conversation, which he didn’t have to do, and I appreciated that,” Keenum told the Sports Spectrum Podcast. “I was definitely shocked, it was a surprise for us and I think probably for the first day or so that’s kind of what it was. But for us, we’re definitely disappointed, it’s not something we wanted to happen. I know that everybody’s doing their job and John feels like that was a chance for him to help the Broncos out.”
Keenum understands how the business of the NFL can go. He was undrafted despite a record-setting college career at Houston. He has bounced around; the Broncos are his fourth team. He finally got a great shot in a good situation in Minnesota two years ago and played very well, helping the Vikings make the NFC championship game.
And now, he’s basically back at Square One.
“For us, it’s another chapter in our lives and we’re going to roll with it,” Keenum said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast. “We’re going to approach this like I do everything in my entire life, and that it’s not by accident this has happened. It’s just another chapter and another opportunity to overcome some adversity in my life.”
Keenum’s future up in the air
If Keenum is not traded and then gets released, he’ll be an interesting name on the market. His strong 2017 season wasn’t that long ago, and while he wasn’t good enough for the Broncos, he also wasn’t absolutely incompetent with a bad roster around him.
Yet, most teams aren’t dying for a starting quarterback. There should be as many as four more quarterbacks drafted in the first round, Nick Foles will be on the move and Teddy Bridgewater will be a free agent, too. Keenum seems likely to sign somewhere as a backup, and then wait for another shot like he got in Minnesota.
That can be the rough life of the NFL. Keenum knows it well.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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