Case Keenum reunited with his first-ever NFL team last year by signing with the Texans.
Now in 2024, he's back once again with Stefon Diggs, with whom he shared his greatest career moment -- the Minneapolis Miracle -- and a wide receiver he believes is still operating at the peak of his talents.
“Yeah, it’s really cool to get back out there and see Stefon on the practice field and to watch him absolutely do some dirty things on some routes that I haven’t seen anybody be able to do,” Keenum said during his annual youth football camp, via KPRC 2's Aaron Wilson. “He’s a dynamic player and he hasn’t lost a step. If anything, he has gotten more savviness and can put some extra sauce on some routes when he needs to and win. He’s done a great job of continuing to build his craft and work his tools, his tool set, and I’m excited to see what he can do in the fall.”
Keenum initially crossed paths in 2017 with the Vikings, when the QB was pressed into action following an early-season knee injury to Sam Bradford, and Diggs was still coming into his own during his third year.
Together, the two helped power Minnesota to a berth in the NFC Championship Game after a 13-3 season, a run that nearly ended a week earlier before Keenum and Diggs connected on a 61-yard pass with 10 seconds remaining in their Divisional Round matchup to turn a 24-23 Saints lead into a 29-24 storybook victory for the Vikes.
Keenum would depart following the season and Diggs would stay for two more before blossoming into a star for the Bills with four straight 100-catch, 1,000-yard campaigns from 2020-23. Like his current role, Keenum was a backup in Buffalo in 2022, watching Diggs put up a career-high 11 touchdowns.
He wasn't there for the end of Diggs' Buffalo tenure, which started with five 100-yard receiving games in the wideout's first six games of 2023 but ended with Diggs fading mightily down the stretch. From December through the playoffs, Diggs failed to reach the end zone and eclipsed 50 yards receiving in a game just twice.
Diggs, who turns 31 this November, is now looking to reset in Houston. Keenum believes he still possesses all the tools to do so, and he'll also stand to benefit from less defensive attention thanks to Houston's stacked WR corps -- something new for Diggs after being far and away the top option in Buffalo.
By trading for Diggs this offseason, the Texans pieced together a three-headed monster at wide receiver with breakout star Nico Collins and an ascending talent in Tank Dell. Tight end Dalton Schultz is dangerous in his own right, and Joe Mixon represents a proven threat to help power the backfield and provide yet another option in the passing game.
Houston is well set up to threaten to go even farther this time around after surprising the league by taking the AFC South Crown and winning a playoff game in 2023.
Leading it all, feeding the many mouths from under center, will be reigning AP Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud.
Just as he does in Diggs and the rest of the roster, Keenum has the utmost faith in the second-year QB to find greater successes in the season ahead.
“I think he’s hungry,” Keenum said. “There was obviously a lot of success, and guys are very proud of what we were able to do and what he was able to do. There’s still some meat on the bone. We still want to get after it. We want to finish with the confetti falling down and winning the last one.”