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The Buffalo Bills have successfully bolstered numerous areas of their roster through free agency this past week, however, one gaping hole still remained, a backup quarterback for Josh Allen.
While Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane announced during his press conference on Friday that they’ll sign a new backup “hopefully early next week,” news broke on Saturday, March 19, that the Bills made a trade with the Cleveland Browns to receive 34-year-old quarterback Case Keenum, who’s served as Baker Mayfield’s backup since 2020.
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NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted, “Another QB trade in Cleveland: The #Browns are sending veteran Case Keenum to the #Bills for a 2022 seventh-round draft pick, per sources.”
After the Browns pulled off the surprise trade with the Houston Texans to land starter Deshaun Watson, it was widely assumed that Keenum would remain in Cleveland. The undrafted quarterback out of Houston was heading into the final year of his three-year, $18 million contract, per OvertheCap.com, which included a $1 million bonus due on the third day of the 2022 league year, which he received on Friday, March 19.
According to ESPN‘s Adam Schefter, the Browns decided to move on from Keenum and “are expected to sign QB Jacoby Brissett to a one-year deal to be Watson’s backup, per sources.”
As for Keenum’s contract, Cleveland.com‘s Mary Kay Cabot clarified that the Browns “reworked his deal” in order “to make it more palatable for Buffalo, and “essentially purchased the seventh-round pick for $1 million.” He’s due a $6.1M base salary in 2022, and along with a prorated signing bonus of $1.33 million, his total cap hit is $8.4 million for this coming season.
Keenum has bounced around the league quite a bit since he was first signed to the Houston Texans’ practice team in 2012. The Bills will mark the seventh franchise he’s played for since joining the NFL.
In addition to the Browns and the Texans, Keenum played with the then-St. Louis Rams (2015) and Los Angeles Rams (2016), before signing with the Minnesota Vikings in 2017. A year later, Keenum signed a two-year $36 million contract with the Denver Broncos, before he was traded to the Washington Commanders in March 2019.
In Washington, Keenum started eight games, where he tallied a total of 1,707 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and five interceptions. The Commanders went 1-7 in those games.
Most recently, during the 2021 NFL season, Keenum started two games for the Browns, during which he passed for a total of 462 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. The Browns won both games.
Ex-Bill Backup QB Matt Barkley’s Return to Buffalo Is ‘Also in the Works’
Keenum isn’t the only backup quarterback heading to Buffalo. The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia tweeted shortly after the Keenum trade news broke that former Bills backup Matt Barkley is expected to return to Buffalo.
Buscaglia tweeted, “Source confirms the Bills have agreed to a trade with Cleveland to acquire QB Case Keenum, as @TomPelissero first reported. Source also says a Matt Barkley return is in the works as well and could be finalized next week.”
The Barkley update doesn’t come as a huge surprise since Barkley hinted at his possible return on Twitter the day before. Barkley kept his message short and simple. He tweeted, “Buffalooooooo!!!!” along with a GIF of himself swinging his sideline warming jack around like a bull master.
Barkley, who was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth-round draft pick from the 2013 NFL Draft, served as Allen’s back from 2018 to 2020. While the 31-year-old had a breakout game in November 2018 against the Jets, completing 232-yard passing yards and leading the Bills to a 41-10 victory over New York, Buffalo did not renew his contract when it expired in 2020.
Following his release, Barkley shared the following photo of his son in a Bills jersey on Instagram and wrote, “Mood.”
This past week, former Bills players Marquel Lee, Jordan Phillips, and Shaq Lawson officially returned to Buffalo, and it’s not crazy to think Barkley could also join them. Before the Bills officially announced they were re-signing Lawson, the defensive end sent out a viral tweet begging Buffalo to return. While Lawson got his wish, it looks like Barkley will too.
Bills Fans Were Hoping Ryan Fitzpatrick Would Return to Buffalo
It was highly expected for last season’s backup, Mitch Trubisky, to move on for the 2022 NFL season, and the search for his replacement started before he signed a two-year $14.25 million contract worth up to $27 million in incentives to join the Pittsburgh Steelers as their “expected” starter for the 2022 NFL season.
Name such as Marcus Mariota and Ryan Fitzpatrick, the latter of which was the clear fan-favorite choice.
However, with Keenum signing with Buffalo, and Bakley’s contract seemingly just around the corner, it seems Fitzpatrick is officially out of the running.
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