The Buffalo Bills landed quarterback Case Keenum in a trade with the Cleveland Browns for a late-round pick.
One curious aspect of the deal was Keenum’s contract. He was due around $6 million for the 2022 season, the final year of his contract he signed with the Browns.
But the Bills will not be paying that.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the team and 34-year-old agreed to a “restructured deal as part of the trade.”
Instead of that prior total, Keenum will now make around $3.5M in 2022 in Buffalo.
Getting Keenum’s number to come down also probably helped the Bills sign a third quarterback.
Former Bill Matt Barkley re-signed and on paper it looks like he’ll be Buffalo’s third-string QB unless something changes during training camp between him and Keenum behind Josh Allen.
Keenum and Barkley replace Mitch Trubisky, who signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason.
Previously the Bills invested a little less in their backup QB option as Trubisky only signed a one-year, $2.5M deal a year ago with the Bills.
Still, the team admitted it’s worthwhile to invest in their backup QB spot for where they want to go.
“It’s an important position,” Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane said earlier this offseason. “I feel pretty good that we’re going to find the right fit.”
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