The Broncos know who their starting quarterback is for 2018. Case Keenum, 30, heads to Denver from Minnesota, where he put up an MVP-caliber season during the Vikings’ impressive postseason run.
Keenum’s mobility, experience and accuracy were all on display last season, but given that his contract is reportedly for only two seasons, ‘Broncos Blitz’ podcast hosts Ronnie K and Shawn Drotar, wonder if he’s the final answer to the team’s search for a long-term starter.
“I think [the Broncos] correctly read the tea leaves [and] realized that they were not going to be [Kirk] Cousins’ choice,” Drotar said, explaining that the team didn’t want to be held hostage by Cousins’ process and instead aggressively moved to obtain Keenum, the second-best available quarterback in free agency.
“That flexibility adds so much power,” Kohrt said. “They have the ability to take the player they want. A quarterback [isn’t] out of the picture yet; a guy who could be groomed under Case Keenum — this is a two-year deal for $36 million; $18 [million] per year, which is very affordable… a fair number.”
Drotar believes that the Keenum signing means that the Broncos won’t go with a quarterback with the No. 5 pick in the draft, and finds it likely that Denver will trade down, but Kohrt feels that would be a mistake. “They’ve got to take a quarterback at [No. 5]. You have to find your franchise guy,” he said. “Keenum is a perfect stop-gap; a guy that will start the next year or two and give you [an] 8-8 or 10-6 season. Maybe he recreates what he did in Minnesota; maybe a little bit better, maybe a little bit worse. [The Broncos will be] better than what they were last year — it’s not the long-term future, though.”
“If they come away with a rookie that’s [clearly] ‘the future’ in the draft, then you can look at [Keenum’s signing] as a success.”
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