Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, citing sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking, reports that the Vikings are not expected to franchise tag QB Case Keenum and he’s slated to hit the free agent market.
This, of course, means that Minnesota will be in the quarterback market in the coming weeks.
There was some talk last month that the franchise tag could be an option for the Vikings and Keenum, but it appears as though Minnesota feels like paying him over $20 million fully guaranteed for the 2019 season is just too much for them to justify.
The Vikings are in an interesting situation in regards to their quarterback position, given that Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford are all in line to be free agents after the season.
Minnesota has been linked to Kirk Cousins in recent weeks, so that’s something to keep an eye on as we move closer to free agency.
Keenum, 29, wound up signing on with the Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Houston back in 2013. He spent two years with the Texans before he was claimed off of waivers by the Rams.
Keenum later returned to the Texans before being traded back to the Rams for a 2016 seventh-round pick. The Rams elected to use a first-round tender on Keenum last year that paid him $3.635 million for the 2016 season.
The Vikings signed Keenum to a one-year, $2 million contract this offseason, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent again next year.
In 2017, Keenum has appeared in 15 games for the Vikings thrown for 3,547 yards while completing 67.6 percent of his passes to go along with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has also rushed for 160 yards and a touchdown. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 9 quarterback out of 40 qualifying players.
We have him featured in our Top 100 – 2018 NFL Free Agents list.
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