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Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season, newly acquired Denver Broncos quarterback Case Keenum throws for 329 yards and a season-high three touchdowns in a 27-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Fast forward to March 2019, and Keenum’s days in Denver are already over.
With the Broncos having already traded for former Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco, there was the question of what would happen to Keenum. The answer is to ship him to Washington, swapping late-round draft picks in the process. This will be made official next week when the league year begins.
Broncos have trade parameters with Washington for QB Case Keenum: Broncos get WAS 6th in 2020, WAS gets Broncos 7th in '20, per source. Keenum's contract reworked. Broncos pay him $500K restructure bonus and pay $3.5 million of his $7M salary. Washington pays $3.5 mi. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) March 7, 2019
Keenum only threw for 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions on a bad Broncos offense, which led to the firing of head coach Vance Joseph. He was highly sought after thanks to a spirited run as Minnesota Vikings starter in 2017, helping lead the team to the NFC Championship Game, only to be thrashed by the Philadelphia Eagles. Apart from that year, Keenum has historically not been a very good QB, and Elway found out the hard way after signing him to a two-year, $36 million contract.
Washington is in obvious need for a quarterback. Alex Smith’s broken leg means he might not even play in 2019 (if ever again), and backup Colt McCoy proceeded to fracture his leg. This isn’t to say that neither Washington nor Denver will still pursue a quarterback early in next month’s draft, but for now you’d assume Flacco is the Broncos’ starter, while Keenum would be the favorite to be the opening day starter for Washington.