Keenum latest to feel local QB heat
Case Keenum chuckled before answering the question so many before him have been asked.
“Some quarterbacks have said they feel the pressure of playing for a team where (John) Elway was the quarterback and you got Peyton Manning,” Keenum was told Friday during his introductory news conference with the Broncos. “Have you given any thought to that, playing quarterback in this town?”
A smile stretched across Keenum’s face before he responded.
“Yeah, I’ve given a lot of thoughts to that,” he said. “It’s pretty incredible.”
Scattered around the Broncos’ Dove Valley training facility are posters of their storied quarterbacks, of their Super Bowl victories and of their big plays in big moments. Ignoring them is impossible. The Broncos are a team built on their past, with the legacy of their owner, Pat Bowlen, and quarterbacks Elway and Manning serving as reminders of their successes and potential.
Seven of their eight AFC championships, 11 of their 15 divisional titles and all three of their Lombardi Trophies were won with Elway or Manning at quarterback. Of the team’s three retired jersey numbers, two belong to Elway and Manning (who shares the honor with another No. 18, Frank Tripucka). And the team’s greatest successes have come with either Elway or Manning under center — and, for a period, Jake Plummer too.
“Not every organization has a guy like John Elway presiding over, not only the daily functions of the team, while also being the face of the city, the state, everything,” Plummer said. “He’s a Hall of Famer, he won two Super Bowls, he played 17 years. So I think you have to embrace that. I did.
“QBs here in Denver definitely face a lot of pressure. I don’t think they face more pressure, but they definitely face some intense pressure to perform and live up to the bar John Elway set. Which is great. Why wouldn’t you want to shoot for that?”
And every quarterback — often coaches, too — who walks through the Broncos’ doors is instantly compared to the past and to their new boss, Elway. They’re questioned about the high stakes in Denver that was embraced over
the years by Bowlen, whose motto is to “be No. 1 in everything.”
The retirement of Manning in 2016 was bound to give way to a few lean years in Denver, as the Broncos shifted toward seventhround pick Trevor Siemian and first-rounder Paxton Lynch. Their backup plan that was four years in the making with Brock Osweiler fell apart in 2016.
The new plan rests on the shoulders of Keenum, a five-year veteran who made the leap from undrafted player to starter and whom the Broncos believe is the “best fit” for their team.
“They’re hard to find. It’s a tough spot to play,” Elway said. “There are a lot of expectations. People around this, as Case knows and I know, you need good people around you to be successful. It’s a hard position. There is a lot pressure on it. You’ve got to play with consistency, and there are a lot of people that rely on that position.”
Keenum signed a twoyear, $36 million “prove it” deal that falls in line with his past. He said he wants to earn his keep — and a longterm future with the Broncos.
But in Denver, it’s never easy
“For me to be on that list of guys who have played quarterback for the Denver Broncos is an honor. It really is,” Keenum said. “For me, I’ve learned that I can’t be anybody that I’m not. I take things from different players. I take their advice. I’ve watched a lot of John and a lot of Peyton Manning, and I take what I’ve learned and I add it to my craft.
“I feel like playing quarterback is a craft, and I’m always working to perfect my craft and to be the best quarterback I can be. That’s me, and that’s playing my style of ball.”