EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Case Keenum had started the previous three games for the Vikings, his third team in four seasons, but he was still, on merit, their backup quarterback, and so he reassumed that job for Week 5 when Sam Bradford was cleared to return. Pressed into service again for an ailing Bradford, Keenum led Minnesota to victory in Chicago, and he went on to start the next week, and the week after, and the week after that.
When the other injured quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, rejoined the roster in November, Coach Mike Zimmer declined to designate Keenum the full-time starter.