Latest news with #Keenum
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Chicago Bears activate Case Keenum off Non-Football Injury list
The Chicago Bears have activated quarterback Case Keenum off the Non-Football Injury list ahead of training camp. Keenum landed on the NFI list on Saturday. The NFI list is used for players who are injured away from team activities. They must be removed from the list before they're allowed to practice. The Bears will hold their first training camp practice on Wednesday. Rookies, quarterbacks and injured players reported on Saturday with veterans set to report on Tuesday. Keenum was signed to a one-year contract this offseason to serve as a mentor for second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. But he'll also battle Tyson Bagent for the backup quarterback job. During the offseason program, Keenum took snaps with the second-team offense, indicating he might have the upper hand in the competition right now. Notable players who remain on the NFI list before training camp: Cornerback Jaylon Johnson, wide receiver Jahdae Walker and running back Ian Wheeler. We'll see if they're ready ahead of Wednesday's first practice. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
American Press
2 days ago
- American Press
BREAKING: Early morning homicide reported at Events Center seawall
The Lake Charles Event Center is located at 900 N Lakeshore Drive. (Special to the American Press) Lake Charles Police are investigating an early morning shooting at the Events Center seawall that left one dead. Lt. Jeffrey Keenum said the department responded to the shooting just before 6 a.m. Sunday He said when patrol officers arrived, they found the body of a gunshot victim along the seawall. Keenum said Sgt. George Miller is the lead investigator. Anyone with information surrounding this shooting is encouraged to contact the Lake Charles Police Department at 337.491.1311 or anonymously leave a tip on the Lake Charles Police Department's App. As additional information is learned, it will be shared, Keenum said.
USA Today
01-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
30 Most Important Bears of 2025: Case Keenum (No. 29)
The Chicago Bears are gearing up for an exciting 2025 NFL season, which features some new faces within the organization poised to get the franchise back to its winning ways. That starts with the hiring of Ben Johnson as head coach, as well as overhauling the interior offensive line, adding pieces on defense and a potenital impactful rookie draft class. Every day from now right up through training camp, we're counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2025 season. We'll recap their 2024 season, look ahead to 2025 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year. Next up at No. 29 is quarterback Case Keenum, who was brought in to serve as a valuable mentor for Caleb Williams while also competing for the backup job. Background Position: Quarterback Age: 37 Experience: 12th season 2025 cap hit: $2.25 million 2024 recap Keenum joined the Texans in 2023, where he served as another coach for then-rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, who won Offensive Rookie of the Year, and was Houston's backup quarterback. Unfortunately, he never got an opportunity to see the field in 2024. Keenum suffered a season-ending foot injury during a preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams. While Keenum missed the entire 2024 season, he remained part of the quarterback room and served as a sounding board for Stroud. Keenum hasn't appeared in an NFL game since 2023, when he made two starts in place of Stroud. In the last five years, Keenum has appeared in 13 games, including four starts. The hope is Keenum won't see the field for Chicago in 2025 -- unless it's replacing Caleb Williams because the Bears are blowing out a team. 2025 outlook The Bears signed Keenum this offseason to serve as another voice inside the quarterback room for second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. Keenum played a key role during Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud's rookie season, when he was dubbed Offensive Rookie of the Year. Now, alongside new head coach Ben Johnson, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett, Keenum will serve as a sounding board for Williams and help him maximize his potential. But outside of that, Keenum will also be competing for the backup quarterback job with Tyson Bagent, who's been QB2 for the past two seasons. For what it's worth, Keenum has been taking reps with the second-team offense throughout the offseason program, according to the media in attendance, so it certainly feels like it's his job to lose at this point. But it's also something to monitor heading into training camp. Big Question: How much will Keenum help Williams develop in Year 2? While Keenum is contending for the backup job with Bagent, there's little doubt about the reason he's in Chicago in the first place -- serving as another mentor for Williams, who's entering a pivotal second season. Keenum boasts a wealth of experience, which includes four years of starting experience and two playoff games (including one win), and he'll be a valuable sounding board for the Bears' young star. Keenum was considering retirement before a 15-minute meeting with Ben Johnson, where Keenum came away impressed with Williams and eager to help the young quarterback flourish. While Keenum is competing for the backup job, he understands his main role is to help Williams develop. Williams is learning his second offense in as many seasons, and Keenum will be key to helping Williams master this Ben Johnson offense and ask questions when needed. While coaches were limited with how much they can work with players each day during the offseason program, there's no such limit with players, and Williams and Keenum have been taking advantage of that. 30 Most Important Bears of 2025 Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Chicago Tribune
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Case Keenum mentored C.J. Stroud for 2 years. Now he's taking on same role for Caleb Williams with Chicago Bears.
Case Keenum thought he might be done. The 37-year-old journeyman quarterback missed all of last season with the Houston Texans after suffering a foot injury during the preseason. He could see the writing on the wall. After 13 years in the NFL, it might finally be time to give it up. Then the Chicago Bears called. Keenum visited Halas Hall and met with first-year coach Ben Johnson. The meeting was scheduled for 15 minutes, but it felt like several hours flew by. Keenum left with renewed energy and a certainty that his NFL career wasn't over yet. 'I love to play football,' he said. 'I'm basically a big kid. I've never had to grow up.' In some sense that might feel true, but in another sense the Bears brought Keenum to Chicago on a one-year, $3 million contract because he can be the grown-up in the room. The Bears lacked a veteran presence at quarterback last season during a crucial time when No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams could've used an experienced teammate to lean on. Veteran Brett Rypien served in that role in the spring and throughout training camp, but when the Bears released Rypien after training camp, the Minnesota Vikings swooped in and signed Rypien to their active roster. That left the Bears with Williams, second-year backup Tyson Bagent and practice-squad rookie Austin Reed as the only quarterbacks in the building throughout the regular season. Bagent was the only one of that trio who had any previous NFL experience. All three return in 2025, but adding a veteran to the group became paramount. Keenum enters the mix with a long list of NFL experiences. He went undrafted coming out of Houston in 2012 despite setting FBS career records for completions, passing yards and touchdown passes — records that still stand. He spent time with the Texans and Rams before breaking out with the Vikings in 2017. Keenum took over for an injured Sam Bradford early in that season and led the Vikings to a 13-3 record and an appearance in the NFC championship game. That playoff run included the memorable 'Minneapolis Miracle' in which Keenum connected with Stefon Diggs for a 61-yard touchdown on the final play to beat the New Orleans Saints. Since then, Keenum has bounced from Denver to Washington to Cleveland to Buffalo, back to Houston and now to Chicago. Along the way, he has been a backup and mentor for the likes of Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen and C.J. Stroud. 'He's been to playoff games,' Johnson said. 'He's won playoff games. He's done it on a high level. He's been the No. 2 quarterback at a number of different places as well. So his experience level is off the charts. He's seen a little bit of everything that this league has to offer.' In Williams, Keenum sees a young quarterback who oozes talent and has 'a chance to be a lot better' than his rookie season indicated. 'He's just a sponge,' Keenum said. 'For being an all-world talent, a guy who has, since high school, been the best player on any field anywhere he has ever stepped on, to be humble enough to ask me questions and watch and learn has been really refreshing to see.' Photos: What we saw at Chicago Bears OTAsDuring organized team activities this spring, Keenum has taken reps with the second-team offense. Johnson has been adamant there's no depth chart yet and he won't build one until training camp starts in July. But it feels notable that Keenum is taking reps with the twos ahead of Bagent, even if it's simply a matter of seniority. After missing all of last season, Keenum hasn't appeared in an NFL game since making two starts in place of Stroud in 2023. He has appeared in 13 games, with four starts, over the last five years. More importantly, though, Keenum is here to be a resource for Williams. That's especially crucial this time of year. Per the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, coaches can work with players for only a certain number of hours per day during the spring. There are no restrictions, however, on how much time players can spend with each other. Keenum can essentially function as an extension of the coaching staff. 'It's just talking ball,' Keenum said. 'It's getting to know each other. That's what the spring is for. First of all, getting to know each other and speaking the same language, but then getting into the weeds a little bit of how to play quarterback and what that looks like.' Keenum had a front-row seat to Stroud's rookie season in 2023, when the Texans QB won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Keenum believes Stroud should've been in the conversation for MVP that year (he tied for eighth). The Bears, notably, passed on a chance to draft Stroud when they traded away the No. 1 pick in 2023. That decision led them to Williams a year later. Keenum loved watching Stroud excel as a rookie and called him 'a special player.' Keenum's two years in Houston showed him he doesn't have to be the starter to make an impact. 'I learned that it's really fun to lead from behind, not necessarily be the one out front but helping to support the guy who is leading in front,' Keenum said. That's a role he's happy to continue in Chicago.
USA Today
31-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Bears HC Ben Johnson explains how valuable Case Keenum has been
Bears HC Ben Johnson explains how valuable Case Keenum has been The Chicago Bears have rolled with undrafted free agent Tyson Bagent as their backup quarterback for the past two seasons. But this offseason they decided to bring in competition with the signing of journeyman Case Keenum, who's the most experienced quarterback the team has had over the past couple of seasons. During his 13-year NFL career, Keenum has played for eight different teams, including multiple stints with the Houston Texans, where he started his career, and the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams. Keenum entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2012, and has thrown for over 15,000 yards and 79 touchdowns in his career. His best season came in 2017 with the Minnesota Vikings, when he led them to the NFC Championship Game. Bringing in a veteran like Keenum will not only help Williams but will also help new Bears head coach Ben Johnson with getting down communication and helping install his offensive scheme. Johnson explained how he feels Keenum will be able to help Williams, and how he feels the work between the two has been productive already. "Case has been phenomenal," Johnson said. "I haven't been with him in the past, but he came highly recommended from a number of people that I trust. He's got skins on the wall. I mean, he's been to playoff games, he's won playoff games. He's done it at a high level. He's been the number two quarterback at a number of different places as well. His experience level is off the charts. He's seen a little bit of everything that this league has to offer. "I can say from my experience of being in the room with him, he finds a good way to ask questions that I might not, or Declan or J.T. – we might not have provided the answer to prior. He does a good job of filling those gaps. And then of course, we're constrained so much by the time limits in the springtime that he's able to help the process when we're not in there as coaches." Keenum not only fills a spot on the roster and in the quarterbacks room, but as Johnson explained, Keenum has also served as extension of the Bears coaching staff. They'll need all the tools available to them this offseason, leading into training camp and the regular season. And with coaches having limited communication with players, a rapport between Williams and Keenum could go a long way for both quarterbacks and their new coaching staff. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
