With Bears quarterbacks Caleb Williams (hamstring) and Tyson Bagent (concussion) still unable to practice due to injuries, veteran Case Keenum once again led the No. 1 offense in Friday's workout.
If Williams and Bagent are unable to play Monday night against the Eagles, Keenum would make the 67th start of his 14-year NFL career. Since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2012, he has appeared in 80 games for the Texans (2012-14 and 2023), Rams (2015-16), Vikings (2017), Broncos (2018), Washington (2019), Browns (2020-21) and Bills (2022), throwing for 15,175 yards with 79 touchdowns, 51 interceptions and an 84.6 passer rating.
Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor has enjoyed working with Keenum since they both joined the team last year, telling reporters he's been most impressed by the veteran quarterback's professionalism.
"He's obviously done it a really long time and at a high level, and he's been through kind of every role you can be in in a quarterback room, from undrafted to a franchise guy to a backup to an up-and-down starter," Taylor said. "I think all those lessons have really molded him into the quarterback he is today. He's probably not the same quarterback he was 12, 13 years ago, five years ago.
"And then he's been with us since Day 1, so he's watched this thing get built, he's had input on the way we've done things. And now it's really cool to see him get a little bit more opportunity here in practice and see how he handles it. If his opportunity comes [Monday night], I don't think anybody has any doubt he'll be ready for the moment."
Taylor has a great appreciation for Keenum in part because the coach is only about a month older than the quarterback; both celebrated their 38th birthdays early this year.
"Every day he goes out to practice … I haven't practiced in 15 years, and I don't know that I could get up and do that every single day," Taylor said.
"It's just a cool story in terms of football stories and a guy that's stuck with it for a long time, had a lot of success in this league and now [has] an opportunity potentially to play for another franchise. He's played for quite a few teams, so it's pretty cool for him if he gets an opportunity to play for us."
Keenum has not played in an NFL regular-season contest since 2023 when he made two starts for the Browns. In three preseason games this summer, he completed 25 of 40 passes for 354 yards with two TDs, no interceptions and a 107.7 passer rating.
If Keenum starts against the Eagles, undrafted rookie Miller Moss likely would serve as the backup. In that scenario, the emergency third quarterback would be a non-QB who has played the position at some point in his career.
Taylor was asked if running back Roschon Johnson, a star high school quarterback who moved to running back as a freshman at Texas, could fill that role.
"That's a possibility," Taylor said. "We have a couple different guys that would be a possibility in that role if that comes down to it. It's determining how the numbers shake out on Monday night. But that's part of one of the things you see us do in the spring when we have all those skill guys throw. We put stock into that.
"We kind of have an idea of who has a past of throwing, who's played baseball, who played high school quarterback, all that stuff. And then we watch them throw and monitor it throughout the year. We'll reference that tape if it comes [to] needing somebody else to throw a pass, and we'll see how that goes."
Williams has started all 36 games since being selected by the Bears with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft. But if he is forced to sit out Monday night's contest, Taylor still believes that the young quarterback can gain something from the experience.
"It's a very new situation for him," said the offensive coordinator, "but I do think you can sit there and you can watch a veteran or Tyson, if Tyson gets the opportunity, how they handle the huddle, how they handle the sidelines, what you can provide as an extra set of eyes on the sidelines, potentially, if that's where he is.
"We'll see how that goes, It's all to be determined. But I think there's a lot of value to sit and watch and see how other people run things, see how the flow of the game goes when you're as emotionally involved as being in the huddle every single day, if that's the way it goes. Any situation you come across, you get an opportunity to learn from. I hope that's what happens if that's the case."
