Is Case Keenum the Next Kirk Cousins?

Who’s Case Keenum?

The Abilene, Texas native Case Keenum has always been overlooked. He was an undersized two-star quarterback recruit coming out of Wylie High School back in 2006. The University of Houston was the only school to offer him a scholarship, so he decided to take his talents to the Courgars football team.

There, Keenum had to compete with sophomore Blake Joseph for the vacant starting quarterback spot left by Kevin Kolb (Yes, that Kevin Kolb). After beating out Joseph, Keenum went on to have a very productive three years as the starting quarterback of the Houston Cougars. However, he tore his ACL in his senior year, and the Cougars finished with a 5-7 record. Luckily, the NCAA granted Keenum another year of eligibility after earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration. In his 2011 comeback season, Keenum added to his NFL résumé by completing 71% of his passes for 5,631 yards and 48 touchdowns to only 5 interceptions.

Despite a highly decorated college career, Case Keenum was still viewed as a late draft pick due to his small stature, lack of pro offense experience, and his ACL injury. He ended up going undrafted and signed unto the Houston Texans practice squad so he could stay close to home. After incumbent starting quarterback Matt Schaub went down in 2013, Keenum was called up to start the last 8 games over 2^nd string backup T.J. Yates. Even though the Texans lost every one of those eight games, Keenum posted some decent numbers for an undrafted quarterback with 1,760 yards for 9 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions.

Then in 2014, Case Keenum was waived when the Texans signed Ryan Mallet (Look how that one turned out) and was claimed off the waivers by the St. Louis Rams. Keenum never played a regular season snap and was placed on the practice squad before he was signed to the Houston Texans again in December. In his second stint with the Texans, Keenum won two consecutive games as a starter against the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars, replacing an injured Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Realizing his value as a backup, the St. Louis Rams decided to get Keenum back by trading a 7^th round pick to the Houston Texans. Although he was expected to be a 2^nd string quarterback ahead of rookie Sean Mannion and behind “proven” starter Nick Foles, Keenum was thrown into the fire in November against the Baltimore Ravens. He suffered a concussion that game and ultimately lost. However, Keenum recovered after letting Nick Foles lose some more games for the Rams and led the team to consecutive wins over the Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Seattle Seahawks. Under new offensive coordinator Rob Boras, Keenum has taken the once 4-8 Rams to a more respectable 7-8 record with the help of Todd Gurley, Tavon Austin, and a great defense.

Next: The Case for Keenum Next Year