The first major domino of the NFL off-season at the quarterback position has fallen.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that free agent quarterback Case Keenum has agreed to sign with the Denver Broncos once free agency opens officially on Wednesday. This is the second time in recent memory that the Broncos have went the free agent route to bolster their quarterback position, with the signing of Peyton Manning in 2012 being the other example.
Before agreeing to terms with Keenum, ESPN is also reporting that the Broncos had discussions with Kirk Cousins and Teddy Bridgewater, who was a teammate of Keenum’s in Minnesota for the 2017 season. Keenum was ranked sixth on The Game Day Report’s top 50 NFL free agents list.
The signing of Keenum likely spells the end for Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler in Denver, and could make the future of former first-round draft pick of Paxton Lynch murky. Denver also holds the fifth overall pick in the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft, and it should be interesting to see how much the signing of Keenum impacts their thinking with that pick, if it does at all.
Gary Kubiak, who is now a senior advisor for the Broncos under general manager and president of football operations John Elway, is very familiar with Keenum as both a person and a player. He coached Keenum for two seasons as the head coach of the Houston Texans, and was said to have a big voice in the Broncos off-season planning.
Keenum had a career year with the Minnesota Vikings in 2017, throwing for 3,547 yards and 22 touchdowns while only throwing 7 interceptions. Keenum also had a completion percentage of 67.6% and a passer rating of 98.3, which were both career-high marks for the 30-year-old gunslinger.
Denver is now the second team to already improve their depth at the quarterback position, joining the Cleveland Browns who traded for Tyrod Taylor last week. The Arizona Cardinals , New York Jets, and Minnesota Vikings are expected to remain aggressive in the free agency for quarterbacks, which outside of Cousins and Bridgewater, also includes Sam Bradford and A.J. McCarron.
Terms of the deal are not yet known for Keenum, but they will be added here once reported.
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