Is Keenum more than a good backup?

October 12, 2017 at 12:27AM

Amid all the worrying about Sam Bradford's knee and Teddy Bridgewater's knee, the curiosity about young Kyle Sloter, the discussion about who will be the Vikings' quarterback in 2018 (One of those guys! A first-round draft pick! A free agent like Drew Brees or a trade for Alex Smith!), there is the guy who is currently quarterbacking the 3-2 Vikings as they head into a home game against their biggest competitive and geographic rivals with first place in the NFC North at stake.

He is the most important quarterback of the moment, and I ask this simple question about Case Keenum:

Is he good?

I'm not sure many of us have stopped to consider that question because when someone is a veteran backup quarterback we tend to think more in terms of "is he a good backup?" and "is he good enough to hold the team together until the starter comes back?"

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.

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