The Veteran and the Rookie: Why Case Keenum Is all-in on Caleb Williams

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 7 hours ago

HICAGO - Going into his eleventh season in the NFL, Keenum has worked with a lot of different quarterbacks.

However, there is something different about the quarterback room in Chicago - a combination of camaraderie and determination to make each other better.

“I think the really cool thing is we have a great relationship in that room. We have a lot of fun. We’re playing a game with a living. We’re a bunch of kids that haven’t had to grow up yet, which I enjoy. I love getting to hang out with guys that are really young and see what the latest Tik Tok things are or whatever it is that’s out there these days. But, I think I miss out on some of the reels that they send each other that I don’t have it on my phone. But, they fill me in before meetings and we get in there on the funniest ones. So, but, we have fun,” Keenum said.

“But, we’re getting better and we’re all learning from each other. That’s the beautiful part of this game and playing quarterback in general. There’s so many different ways of doing it. But, there is a standard of NFL quarterbacking play that I think we are all trying to meet that bar and raise that bar consistently everyday and help each other. I don’t want any of them to do poorly to make myself look better and they don’t want the same thing for me. We all want to do our best so that we make each other better … It’s been a great relationship. We’re all making each other better and I think that’ll make us all better in the long run.”

Since Keenum was signed, part of his role was to be a mentor to starting quarterback Caleb Williams. There are a lot of things Williams will have to do in the offseason this season, such as playing under center and calling kills, that he did not do as a rookie.

Even with everything on Williams’ plate this season, Keenum has seen improvements.

“He’s growing. I think there’s different plays you can call in the gun or shotgun or under center. I think he’s doing great at both of those things. He’s extremely athletic. He picks up things very quickly. So, seeing him work under center has been very natural, I think to me, to see a lot of those things. His tendency probably is more in the gun (because) that’s just his history. But, it was my history when I came out of college as well. So, I actually like being under center because you can keep your eyes on the defense longer and you don’t have to look down to catch the snap and then reidentify where a safety might have gone during that time. Even though it’s short, when you’re under center, you can look up the whole time,” Keenum said. “But, for him operating though, it doesn’t matter if it’s in the shotgun or under center.

"I think it has picked up tremendously and what I’ve seen from him pre-snap has really progressed into post-snap play being better as well too. So, more in command of the offense, command of his mechanics, command of the ball placement, elite ball placement and great accuracy with some force behind it and it’s been fun to watch the growth there and the chemistry being built with the guys, (some) of the new guys. Y’all seen (wide receiver) Luther (Burden III) out there a little bit, (tight end) Colston (Loveland) and then some guys that he already has some reps with (wide receivers) Rome (Odunze) and DJ (Moore) and (tight end) Cole (Kmet) and company. So, a lot of weapons to choose from and Ben has put a lot of pressure on us as quarterbacks to handle play calls without wristbands out there, new play calls everyday, long ones with double kills and possible alerts. So, it’s been fun to come in everyday and to see what’s next and he’s risen to the challenge.”

Despite all of the ups and downs from his rookie season, one thing Williams continually did well at last season was performing under pressure. When the game was on the line, Williams generally did not make a crucial mistake.

That mentality is also something Keenum has seen from Williams, particularly when the Bears are practicing their two minute drill in training camp.

“One, I think majority of games in this league come down to one possession and that is what’s so fun. This league is so similar when it comes to a lot of the talent level and then when it comes down to a game, the great ones, they want the ball in their hand and you can tell Caleb wants the ball in his hand in those moments,” Keenum said. “So, two-minute is a drill where you can rely on guys and instincts, your past training and just (the) fire of competition. Who’s a competitor? And there’s certain guys, when the lights turn on, that switch just flips and he’s got that switch where he can turn it on and I can’t wait to watch it at Soldier Field and all over the league this year.”