According to multiple NFL reporters, quarterback Case Keenum has agreed to sign a deal with the Denver Broncos, ensuring that the Minnesota Vikings will have a new quarterback for the 2018 season. The deal is expected to be signed when free agency opens on March 14.
The Broncos’ senior personnel advisor, Gary Kubiak, was Keenum’s head coach in Houston. According to Charles Robinson, the reason the Denver Broncos took themselves out of the running for Kirk Cousins — who the Vikings, along with the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, are rumored to be pursuing — is because Keenum’s potential contract structure is much more team-friendly than Cousins’ will be.
The Vikings, more familiar with Keenum’s play and proposed contract terms than anyone else, likely did not opt to match and either believe strongly that they’re the favorite for Kirk Cousins or that Keenum’s value and cost really didn’t align. The Vikings could have applied the franchise tag to Keenum, keeping him in Minnesota on an expensive one-year contract, but chose not to.
