2018 NFL offseason quarterback carousel: Predicting who goes where
By Peter Panacy
Case Keenum
2017 Team: Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum enjoyed a breakout year in 2017, finally breaking out of the “perennial backup” moniker he’d been associated with his entire career.
With an excellent supporting cast around him, Keenum rode that momentum all the way to the NFC Championship game and endeared himself to Minnesota fans everywhere.
But at 30 years old, is this a sign of things to come or was it just an anomaly?
Head coach Mike Zimmer (h/t Tom Pelissero of NFL Network) didn’t exactly offer a long-term endorsement of Keenum:
Can Keenum repeat his 2017 breakout? Zimmer: “You think he can, but it’s just kind of guessing.” Noted they had a good team around him.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 1, 2018
So, Keenum won’t be returning, right? Especially if one views the Vikings as front runners to land Kirk Cousins in free agency.
More on Cousins in a moment, but there’s still a good chance Keenum makes a return to the Vikings in 2018. Minnesota has the cap space ($47.6 million) to offer Cousins a lucrative contract. But that likely would mean a soon-to-be dismantling of that vaunted defense. The Vikings won on a formula involving Keenum, solid offensive playmakers and that stout defensive grouping.
They’ll ride the same approach again, even if it might not have been their first choice.