When the Chicago Bears re-signed Case Keenum in March, this probably wasn't the scenario anyone envisioned. Six months later, it's precisely why veteran third quarterbacks exist.
Caleb Williams is week-to-week with a right hamstring injury. Tyson Bagent is now in the NFL concussion protocol. And Keenum, 38, could conceivably find himself starting for the Bears against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
That's a dramatic change for a quarterback who hasn't appeared in a regular-season game since 2023.
But Keenum isn't an inexperienced emergency option. Far from it.
Keenum has played a lot of NFL football
Keenum has appeared in 80 regular-season games during his NFL career. He's completed 1,392 of 2,233 passes for 15,175 yards, 79 touchdowns and 51 interceptions, producing an 84.6 career passer rating.
His career has taken him across the league, including stops with Houston, the Rams, Minnesota, Denver, Washington, Cleveland and Buffalo before arriving in Chicago.
His best season came with the Vikings in 2017. Keenum completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,547 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions that year while producing a career-best 98.3 passer rating.
That season is best remembered for the Minneapolis Miracle, when Keenum connected with Stefon Diggs for the game-winning touchdown against New Orleans in the divisional round.
He's obviously not that quarterback anymore. But he's also considerably more experienced than the typical NFL third-stringer.
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Bears made a point of keeping Keenum
Keenum first joined Chicago in 2025. The Bears liked what he provided enough to bring him back again this offseason, officially re-signing him to a two-year contract in March.
And he gave Chicago a reminder during the preseason that he can still operate an NFL offense.
Keenum completed 25 of 40 passes for 354 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions across his three 2026 preseason appearances. His best performance came against Cleveland, when he completed 9 of 10 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns, good for a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
Granted, preseason football is preseason football. Nobody should confuse that with facing Vic Fangio's Eagles defense on Monday night.
But Keenum has worked in Ben Johnson's offense for two offseasons. He knows the terminology. He knows Chicago's personnel. And he isn't being asked to learn the system five days before potentially starting.
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Bears hope they don't need him
None of this means Keenum is going to start. Williams hasn't officially been ruled out. Bagent hasn't officially been ruled out. And the Bears have several days before they need to make a decision.
But the range of possibilities has changed significantly.
On Sunday morning, Keenum was Chicago's inactive third quarterback. By Wednesday morning, there's a legitimate path to him starting Monday Night Football against a 2-0 Eagles team.
That's exactly why the Bears kept him around. Chicago didn't need its veteran insurance policy during the first two weeks of the season. Ben Johnson might be about to cash it in.
BearsTalk Analytics2026 season
How the players in this story are grading
40.1Tyson Bagent. BTX grade 40.1 out of 100, rank 28 among 45 qualified quarterbacks.
67.0Caleb Williams. BTX grade 66.95 out of 100, rank 13 among 45 qualified quarterbacks.
41.9Stefon Diggs. BTX grade 41.9 out of 100, rank 75 among 142 qualified wide receivers.
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