Broncos, Case Keenum deal touted as ‘smartest move,’ ‘low risk’

Upon the official announcement that the Denver Broncos had inked Case Keenum to a two-year deal on Wednesday, general manager John Elway said he was a “great fit” for the organization.

Broncos head coach Vance Joseph called the veteran quarterback “perfect” for the team, “both as a player and as a person,” joining Elway in lauding his leadership skills and work ethic.

However, the move received praise from “Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley for a slightly different reason.

“When you look at the price tag, it’s low risk, high reward,” Stokley said on Tuesday.

Stokley said he had hesitations about Keenum signing with Denver at first glance but gave “kudos” to the Broncos for landing the second-best quarterback on the market for a “cheap, cheap deal.”

“You got the second-best options, and you got him at a team-friendly deal,” Stokley said.

Keenum, according to Spotrac.com, will earn $36 million over the duration of the contract, $18 million per season, with $25 million guaranteed.

And with Kirk Cousins, the top free agent quarterback to many, seemingly headed for a large, fully-guaranteed payday with the Minnesota Vikings, Sandy Clough agreed with the low-risk move as well.

“I don’t know if it was the right move. I suspect it was the smartest move left available to the Broncos once Kirk Cousins had made his intentions clear,” Clough said on Tuesday.

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, who first broke the news that Keenum intended to sign with Denver, told “Schlereth and Evans” on Tuesday that the Broncos had been assessing the “Cousins sweepstakes all along” to determine if the signal-caller would be the right fit at the right price.

“I think Denver took the calculated, safe, cost-effective, familiar, no-risk move here by going with Case Keenum,” Schefter said. “And I think they believe it probably will give them flexibility in the draft.”

And aside from getting a solid quarterback at what will probably half the price Cousins will demand, Schefter said, Denver also likely didn’t want to be left without anyone to dance with.

“If you wait on Kirk Cousins and you don’t get him, maybe Case Keenum’s off the market. So the maybe you lost Keenum and you lost Cousins, and now you’re going to either a gimpy Sam Bradford or a gimpy Teddy Bridgewater, and you haven’t solved the problem,” Schefter said.

Bradford accepted a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday while Bridgewater will join the New York Jets, also on a one-year deal.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.