Case Keenum heads to his 3rd team in 4 seasons after signing with the Vikings

At 9-7 as an NFL starter his past three seasons, Case Keenum has been a capable short-term option at quarterback. According to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston, the Minnesota Vikings scooped up Keenum, hoping he’ll be a useful insurance policy behind Sam Bradford while the team waits for Teddy Bridgewater to recover from severe knee injury.

Bridgewater has reportedly been making progress in his recovery from the injury which cost him the entire 2016 season and forced a trade for Bradford, but he isn’t ready to participate in the offseason with the Vikings and that leaves the team with Taylor Heinicke as the only other option to work with.

Keenum has been a core member of terrible football teams in his five years in the league. His first run as a starter went as poorly as it possibly could; he went 0-8 in relief of Matt Schaub for a hopeless Houston Texans team in 2013. He’d wind up released by the team the following preseason in favor of Ryan Mallett, but was snapped up off waivers by the Rams days later.

Keenum didn’t appear in a game with the then-Saint Louis franchise, and was signed away by the Texans in December. He started a pair of games late in a mediocre season after starter Ryan Fitzpatrick was lost for the year and earned his first taste of NFL success, going 2-0 for Houston.

The Rams would acquire him again the following offseason, shipping a seventh-round pick south in order to bolster their depth chart. The former Houston standout has been the team’s standby starter the past two seasons, but mostly remained mired in the “7-9 bullsh**” with which Jeff Fisher surrounded his team. Keenum was an even 7-7 with the club, but threw for fewer than 190 yards per game in his tenure there. His 79.5 passer rating would have been 26th among qualified passers last fall.

That impressive mediocrity led him to serve as a seatwarmer for 2016’s No. 1 overall draft pick, Jared Goff. Goff took his time adjusting from NCAA play to the big leagues and had a very Keenum-like rookie season — he went 0-7 as a starter. However, with the team’s future invested in the former California standout, it became clear the team no longer had room for its former starter.

Now, Keenum will serve as the backup in Minnesota, although it could be a short gig if Bridgewater’s recovery comes together. The Vikings seem to think so too, handing Keenum just a one-year deal worth $2 million with more available via incentives.