The Vikings are not expected to use the franchise tag on quarterback Case Keenum, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Barring an extension, Keenum will hit the free agent market on March 14.
Keenum, a career journeyman who inked a one-year, $2MM pact with Minnesota last offseason, posted the best season of his career in 2017 while leading the Vikings’ offense to a No. 5 finish in offensive DVOA. The 30-year-old ranked seventh in passer rating and ninth in adjusted net yards per completion during the 2017 regular season, and finished first in Football Outsiders‘ individual DVOA metric.
The Vikings have the ninth-most cap space (about $49MM) of any NFL team in 2018, so the ~$23.3MM franchise tag would have been palatable for general manager Rick Spielman & Co. A franchise tender would have also allowed Minnesota to lock in Keenum for only a single season, alleviating any concerns that Keenum will turn back into a pumpkin during the course of a long-term deal.
A franchise tag would have come with its own risks, however, with most of those being financial in nature. Keenum isn’t likely to receive much more than $23MM guaranteed on a long-term deal, so the Vikings may not see value in handing him that figure for a single campaign.
Minnesota could still reach a multi-year pact with Keenum, but the club will also have the option of jumping into the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes when the free agent period begins next month. Hypothetically, the Vikings could pursue a quarterback via the draft, but given that they’re sitting near the end of the first round, the team likely won’t have a shot at one of this year’s top passing prospects without trading up.
Keenum, of course, isn’t the only Vikings quarterback scheduled to hit free agency, as Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater are also on expiring contracts.
Kirk should be all over Minnesota if he wants the best chance to win
It’s too bad he’s all about the money. Vikings won’t give him Jets money….
He is all about the money? He was offered to be the second highest paid QB in Washington…. He wanted out because of the crappy way they treated him through out the process
Washington’s top offer to him in 2016 was 16 mil/yr
Just mentioned on @nflnetwork the Redskins’ top offer to Kirk Cousins: $16m per year with about $24m in guarantees. Will play on $20m tag.
2:12 PM – Jul 15, 2016 Mike Garafolo
53m gar (up to 72)/5 yr in 2017
Yes still talking about a ton of money, but not inline with the market for an above average QB
At this point, I think Cousins just wants a franchise who will treat him with respect.
JT, you wrote:
The only reason Cousins is in the NFL at all is thanks to the Redskins and some bad decisions by RGIII. Cousins rose to the occasion to become a decent stats quarterback. Sadly when the game is on the line, Cousins neither leads the team nor usually delivers the winning ball.
In fairness his receivers did drop a few game winners last year. Cousins still has to learn it’s not just about how he throws the ball but how his teammates catch it. If Cousins offered the kind of leadership Aaron Rogers or even Eli Manning project his receivers wouldn’t be dropping those balls so often. Cousins is an accountant at this point with a throwing arm. It’s a style and it’s made him a tall stack of cash.
Paying Cousins north of $20 million with a $100 million in guarantees means risking your entire franchise. Cousins will ride a train but he won’t pull it.
I live in philly and have seen a lot of cousins, he is not elite, hes a pick throwing machine….I wouldn’t make him the highest paid q in fottball not even top 5
Minnesota / Denver. Best options for Kirk. I think Keenum ends up at the loser of the Kirk war.
I wouldn’t franchise keenum either…hes not that elite….I mean Bradford is probably better and bridgewater is about as good
I would not mind retaining Keenum in the least but franchising him seems a bit extreme.
Keenum’s market value is below franchise tag. Minnesota could easily put a transitional tag on Keenum, giving them the right of first refusal. I’d be surprised to see anyone big over $10 million/year on Keenum or even giving him a transitional offer sheet. If Minnesota want Keenum at all, Keenum should be listening closely to whatever they offer. In this game of poker, Keenum is not holding many cards.