The Chicago Bears had a busy offseason, but not all of their additions are locks to make the roster. One of their veteran additions may not make it to Week 1.
The Bears signed veteran backup quarterback Case Keenum to a one-year, $2.25 million deal in the offseason. Ben Johnson recently revealed that Keenum would be in the mix for the backup quarterback role along with Tyson Bagent.
“That’s how we explained it to him, that’s how we explained it to Tyson,” Johnson said Wednesday, according to the Chicago Sun Times. “We’re going to continue to mix up the reps over the course of the preseason and then at some point in training camp, we’ll make a decision with who has earned that No. 2 job and we’ll go with it. But for right now, we’ve got a battle.”
While Johnson is open to the two quarterbacks competing to be Caleb Williams’ backup, FanSided’s Terrence Jordan predicts that Keenum “won’t survive” roster cuts.
“When given the chance, Bagent has proven to be a capable backup, but his hold on the clipboard appeared to loosen when the Bears signed 37-year-old Case Keenum last month,” wrote Jordan. “Keenum has been around the block and then some, as the Bears are now his eighth NFL team. He last played for the Texans, where he backed up and mentored C.J. Stroud.
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“It’s going to come down to Keenum and Bagent to see who backs up Caleb this year, but the smart money is still on Bagent, not only because he’s shown great development since entering the league, but because Keenum’s main utility will be found between now and Week 1.”
Keenum has experience and has shown flashes of being able to help a team win in the past. In 2017, he went 11-3 as a starter and took the Vikings to the NFC Championship game. He has a 30-36 record as a starter, but his primary purpose will be to mentor Williams. Jordan thinks all of that can be done before Week 1 rolls around. However, Keenum is open to the competition.
“I show up every day and hope my locker is not cleaned out, man,” Keenum told the Chicago Sun Times. “That’s how I treat every day. I compete against myself, compete against the guys in that room. I compete against the defense that we’re playing that day, today and then every day. I’ve competed my whole life, so, you know, I’ve got a knack of sticking around and being ready to go when my name is called, no matter when that is or how that is.”
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