The Cleveland Browns are in the midst of turnover at the quarterback position. While they haven’t announced anything, despite the Houston Texans announcing the trade, the team has acquired Deshaun Watson and given him a huge contract.
Baker Mayfield has requested a trade and specifically would like to go to the Indianapolis Colts. The Seattle Seahawks may also have interest in the Browns former top overall pick.
The one part of the quarterback room that was expected to change, Case Keenum, now seems more likely to actually stick around.
Keenum is going into the final year of a three-year deal he signed with Cleveland in the offseason before the 2020 season. He appeared in nine games for the team including two starts, both coming in 2021. For his career, which has spanned seven teams, Keenum has started 64 of the 76 games he’s played in completing over 62% of his passes for 14,876 yards.
The Texas native and Houston Cougar alum has thrown 78 touchdown passes and 48 interceptions during that time. He also played in two playoff games, both for the Minnesota Vikings, and threw the pass to Stefon Diggs that became known as the Minnesota Miracle.
As a part of the final year of his deal with the Browns, Keenum had a $1 million roster bonus that was due on the third day of the 2022 league year. Unless something has been agreed upon behind the scenes but not reported yet, that deadline passed on Friday with Keenum still on the roster.
The news may have gone under the radar given the Watson trade and contract happening Friday afternoon.
Cleveland could still cut Keenum and gain cap space but it will now be $1 million less, $6.1 million, with the quarterback pocketing a million dollars just for being on the roster at the end of Friday.
Keenum likely returns to the Browns to provide stability at the quarterback position. Watson is likely facing a suspension in 2022 and Keenum’s presence should give Cleveland a safe backup plan if Watson does miss time.