Short stay on inactive list ends for Bears QB Case Keenum

"That's how we explained it to Tyson," coach Ben Johnson said at minicamp. "We're going to continue to mix up the reps over the course of the preseason and then at some point in training camp we'll make a decision with who has earned that No. 2 job and we'll go with it. But for right now, we’ve got a battle."

It doesn't sound like it will be a heated battle with all of the nice compliments being tossed around. Keenum had said Bagent looked to him like a player who would have a long NFL career.
“For anybody to say that is pretty sweet and pretty cool," Bagent said. "And it means a lot. I mean, this is my life's work. So it does mean a lot.

"But coming from somebody like him it means a little bit more."

Keenum has had four starts in the last five seasons and his teams won three. Houston went 1-1 in 2023 when he started and Cleveland was 2-0 in 2021 in starts.

He'll no doubt be ready for the competition based on how he handled similar situations in the past.

"I mean I've competed my whole life, you know?" Keenum said. "I show up everyday and hope my locker is not cleaned out, man. That's how I treat every day. I compete against myself, compete against the guys in that room. I compete against the defense that we're playing that day, today and then every day. I've competed my whole life, so, you know, I've got a knack of sticking around and being ready to go when my name is called, no matter when that is or how that is."