Cavs should be in no rush to deal Collin Sexton
July 13, 2021Just one last week without Browns football this year
July 19, 2021*nervously clears throat*
Ok, before you all light your torches and grab your pitchforks,1 nowhere in this article am I going to make any outrageous claims that disparage Baker Mayfield. After the second half of the season that he had last year, and nearly leading the Browns to a playoff win in Kansas City, I have nothing but confidence that he’s the guy for 2021 and WAY beyond.
However, in the NFL, you are never more than one play away from relying on your backup quarterback. So, with that being said, let’s go one step down the line of quarterback succession and take a look at Case Keenum and whether or not we can and/or should trust him with, objectively, one of the best rosters in the league on paper.
The short answer to that question would be yes – if for no other reason than Kevin Stefanski trusted him enough to bring him in last year. The reason behind Keenum being here in the first place is not hard to figure out. The best season the 33-year old quarterback has ever had came under the coaching of Stefanski in 2017 with the Vikings.
Anyone that saw it happen live remembers the “Minnesota Miracle”, the vision of Stephon Diggs keeping his balance as time expired to run down the sideline and score an improbable game-winning touchdown easily sticks in the minds of football fans. But how many remember that it was Keenum that delivered that pass?
Keenum finished that season, including the playoffs, 12-4 after becoming the starting quarterback in Week Two when Sam Bradford went down with a knee injury that eventually required surgery. He ended up racking up over 3,500 passing yards and 22 touchdowns that season while posting the league runner-up QBR of 72.8.
A pair of lackluster seasons split between Denver and Washington, combined with his age, took him out of serious consideration for a starting QB role when searching for a job in the spring of 2020.
For the Browns, Keenum was on the field for a total of 15 snaps, all coming in mop-up duty during the Week Six loss in Pittsburgh. Which, for a backup quarterback, is something that you welcome. Teams don’t really want their backup QB on the field…there’s a reason they’re the backup. So the health of Baker Mayfield during the 2020 season, especially during the stretch run when he put up some of the best numbers in the league, rivaling even Patrick Mahomes, was a blessing for the Browns.
That being said, when the discussion of the Browns’ cap situation sprang up following the loss in the Divisional Round, one of the easiest targets for relief was the contract of Keenum. When the then-32-year-old joined Cleveland, he signed a 3-year, $18 million contract with $10 million of that being guaranteed. Quite the contract for a guy you hope never sees consistent playing time.
In 2021, his cap figure tops $7.3 million, the tenth-highest paid player on the roster. Keenum will make more than Ronnie Harrison, Wyatt Teller, Greedy Williams, and Rashad Higgins COMBINED this season.
He also ranks as the highest-paid QB in the league that is guaranteed (with any luck) to be a backup to start the season. Five potential backups, Teddy Bridgewater, Taysom Hill, Andy Dalton, Trey Lance, and Nick Foles, are scheduled to out-earn Keenum in 2021, but it’s unclear where those guys may fall on their respective depth charts come Sept. 12.
Those figures are scary, especially with people who are able to see the barrage of massive contracts the Browns are going to have to sign in the next couple of off-seasons to keep the core that was built by the 4-44 stretch we all had to endure. A lot of guys are gonna want their money from those draft classes, and unfortunately, the Browns won’t be able to pay them all.
But, in the end, is Keenum’s contract really that crazy? With all the talent that this Browns team has, is it not worth paying $7.3 million for a backup QB that isn’t guaranteed to talk the season if Baker is out for an extended period of time?
On paper, this roster is one of the best rosters in Browns history – easily the best since they came back in 1999 by a WIDE margin. So, given the choice, I would rather pay my backup quarterback $7 million than have someone that I don’t trust take over. In 1988, the year following “The Fumble”, the Browns lost Bernie Kosar in Week One for what ultimately ended up becoming six games, where the Browns went just 3-3. Upon his return, they won five of their next seven games before losing him again in the penultimate game of the season to a sprained knee.
In 1988, the Browns were widely considered the favorite to represent the AFC in Super Bowl XXIII. Due to the injury to their star QB, as well as a **handful** of backup QBs, they were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs at home by the Houston Oilers.
Given the vast amount of money the Browns would have to pay to keep this core together, a task that seems impossible, it would be best not to waste this season on a second-rate backup quarterback. Give me the best we can find.
I think the Browns did that with Case Keenum and he will be worth every penny this season regardless of whether he sees the field or not.
- Torchforks!! [↩]