The Chicago Bears talked Case Keenum out of retirement a season ago, with the quarterback excited by the chance to help Caleb Williams and join Ben Johnson's offense. Fast forward a year later and a month ahead of training camp opening, and there is every reason to wonder what level Keenum can reach at this point in his career. Keenum is 38, leaving an obvious level of question about his current ability and how much Chicago might rely on the veteran if forced into action.
Tyson Bagent lends an incredible level of stability with the primary backup already having his future locked up. Keenum only needs to offer reassurance if the Bears are considering trading Bagent to hand the quarterback a shot to compete for a starting job. With this in mind, Keenum's level of performance will be under a bit of a microscope to find out if the signal caller still has his fastball.
Even if age does catch up with Keenum, there is a clear reason to keep the quarterback rostered or to transition the veteran into a coaching role. The leap that Caleb Williams took a season ago is understandably credited to Johnson, but Keenum's leadership and help in Williams seeing the field cannot be underrated.
Bears Need to Gauge Whether it is Time for Case Keenum to Take Coaching Role
There are only a handful of quarterbacks in the league older than Keenum, with the majority being far more physically talented and accomplished. Chicago needs to watch the veteran closely in camp and the preseason, searching for two potential answers. The first being that if Keenum is still able to play at a high level and is capable of being a primary backup, this opens up a clear trade possibility for Bagent.
However, if things don't go as hoped and there is a clear level of regression, Chicago needs to consider moving the aging backup into a coaching role. If this is the avenue the franchise needs to take, it opens up an exciting possibility as well of utilizing the third quarterback role for a potential development project.
No matter how things play out, it is beyond clear that the Bears need to be paying close attention to Keenum. Watching how the quarterback plays and whether he still looks comfortable in the pocket and is capable of driving the ball will be telling. All of this adding up to explaining why Keenum should have a lot riding on the summer ahead.
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