After crashing back to Earth at the worst possible time, how will the NFC title game effect Case Keenum’s free agency?
It was a rough night for Case Keenum and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game. After stringing together a stellar season — one as unexpected as it was amazing — the rug was pulled out from under the Vikings and their season ended.
Now that Keenum’s season is over, he’s a free agent and needs to make a decision about his future. The Vikings also need to decide if it’s in their best interest to bring him back in 2018, especially since the team has no quarterbacks under contract.
Will the Vikings bring him back?
It looked like all signs were pointing towards the Vikings bringing Keenum back next season. This one loss alone isn’t a guillotine to his future in Minnesota but it makes their decision easier than it was before.
There were reports early on Sunday that the Vikings were considering the franchise tag for Keenum, which would have paid him over $20 million next year. Is Keenum worth being paid like Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford? The answer is no, and now the Vikings don’t have to be pressured into making a decision they might not have been totally comfortable making. There’s a chance that Keenum is back, but not if he wants to cash out and find a team that will give him a contract as a starter.
Minnesota will have to decide if the future is now for Teddy Bridgewater, who they’re essentially rebooting and starting over with. Pat Shurmur is going to New York to be the next Giants head coach, and both Ben McAdoo and Mike McCoy have been rumored as the Vikings next offensive coordinator. It would make sense for Minnesota to make Bridgewater the starter with a brand new coordinator since a new system will need to be learned anyways. Most of Keenum’s success is tied to Shurmur so that lowers incentive to keep him over Bridgewater and delay his development further.
Sam Bradford will be too expensive to keep and he’ll be actively seeking a starting gig (maybe Arizona or Jacksonville). Keenum has earned a look from the Vikings but he was hardly a sure thing to return even before the NFC Championship Game.
What about Pat Shurmur and the Giants?
One likely landing spot for Keenum was wherever Pat Shurmur landed a head coaching job. Now that we know it’s New York, many are pegging the Giants as Keenum’s next team. Eli Manning is reportedly returning as the starter in 2018, which means it won’t be a starting job for Keenum if he follows Shurmur.
It’s also worth pondering if the bubble has burst a little after the NFC Championship Game. For the first time since Week 2 at Pittsburgh, the other shoe dropped for Keenum and it wasn’t pretty. It’s something everyone has been waiting for and now could be used against him since the shine of his season has been smudged.
Outside of the title game, Keenum put together a season that should earn him a starting job with someone. He isn’t a franchise quarterback worth building around but he’s also not a scrub. A team looking for a game manager quarterback could give him a shot and he’s earned that.
Someone will give Case Keenum a job, and he deserves that. One bad game doesn’t erase what he was able to do throughout the year and he’ll still have a few more good years in him that will be worth the price someone pays.