Roster Move: Bears sign veteran quarterback

Kirby Lee - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - Thursday, April 03 2025

It's been a while since the Chicago Bears have added to their roster, as most of their attention has been focused on the NFL draft. However, with three weeks to go until the draft, the Bears have continued to monitor the free agent market, hoping to add more pieces to their roster.

Thursday saw the Bears not only add a piece but an underrated piece that could prove to have more value than anyone expected. The Bears and veteran quarterback Case Keenum have agreed to a one-year deal. Keenum can make upward of three million dollars for this season and will now take over for Tyson Bagent as the Bears' primary backup to Williams.

The long-time journeyman quarterback has been in the league for 12 seasons and has demonstrated the ability to not only be a starting quarterback but also a reliable one. He was also one of the best passing quarterbacks in NCAA history. The hype surrounding Keenum was real entering the 2013 NFL draft, only to see him become a day-three selection by the Houston Texans.

Throughout his career, Keenum has been a backup quarterback at virtually every stop he has made. He is a classic example of one of those players who had success in college but never found a way to replicate it in the NFL. He did have moments where he showed what he could do, with his best moment of all coming in 2017 as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

Entering the season as the backup to Sam Bradford, Keenum took over for Bradford in week two and never looked back, going on to have a phenomenal season. Not only did Keenum throw for a career-best 22 touchdowns with only seven interceptions, but he also achieved a near 68% completion percentage and just under 3,600 yards.

His effort off the bench in place of Bradford helped the Vikings win the NFC North with a 12-4 record and secured them the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. The Vikings went on to win their first playoff game on a play that will forever be known as the Minneapolis Miracle before getting blown out by the Eagles in the NFC title game.

Following his impressive season, Keenum cashed in like all quarterbacks do and signed a massive deal with the Denver Broncos the following offseason. Despite throwing for a career-high 3890 yards for Denver, Keenum struggled to duplicate his success, finishing the season with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

That was the beginning of the end for Keenum, who has bounced around the league since his time with Denver, playing for four different teams over the past six seasons, including the Houston Texans in 2023, which drafted him one decade prior. Looking back at his entire career thus far, you have a guy who has thrown for 79 touchdowns, to go with 51 interceptions, and logged more than 15,000 yards through the air.

While there are some concerns with this pickup, the biggest one being that he hasn't played since 2023, for three million dollars, it's hard to complain about as he is the perfect backup for the Bears. With his addition to the roster, not only does Chicago have a legitimate veteran backup capable of holding down the fort should Williams go down, but Keenum is also someone who has been there and done that in this league, making him the perfect teacher for Williams.

When you look across the NFL landscape and consider some of the talented quarterbacks in the game today, most of them have had great veterans to learn from in the past, who helped teach them the NFL game. Williams never had that opportunity with the Bears last season, as Bagent was his backup and only has one more year of experience than Williams.

Keenum not only has a decade of NFL experience but has also played with several different organizations, learning multiple offensive schemes, which will come in handy in Chicago. Hopefully, the Bears won't have to rely on Keenum too much this season unless it involves him teaching Williams the ins and outs of the game.