Bears bringing on veteran QB Case Keenum to mentor Caleb Williams: Source

Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishThe Bears are bringing in veteran quarterback Case Keenum, a league source said Thursday. Keenum will sign a one-year deal worth up to $3 million, according to ESPN.Keenum, 37, has 66 career NFL starts, including two for the Houston Texans in 2023. He spent the past two seasons with Houston and young quarterback C.J. Stroud. Before that, he was in Buffalo with Josh Allen and in Cleveland with Baker Mayfield.Last year, the Bears didn’t have a veteran quarterback in the room with Caleb Williams. His backup was second-year, undrafted pro Tyson Bagent, and the team had undrafted rookie Austin Reed on the practice squad. The hope was that assistant coach Ryan Griffin, a long-time backup quarterback, would provide that presence, but the Bears wanted someone who was on the roster.At the league meetings earlier this week, Bears general manager Ryan Poles expressed that sentiment on the “Hoge and Jahns” podcast.“We understand there’s a unique wisdom that an experienced quarterback can bring to the table and help a young quarterback out,” Poles said. “We have (quarterbacks coach) J.T. Barrett, who’s played the game, who’s going to have wisdom and perspective as well, but those guys have to go game-plan and prepare, and the contact time isn’t as high as someone who’s in the room.“The most important piece is making sure it’s the right fit. That’s a special room. The personalities, the egos, all of that has to work out perfectly or you can disrupt it significantly. We’re being very particular.”Bagent should remain the backup quarterback, but will relish the competition.“Tyson, in terms of his play … we love his skill set there,” Poles said. “That makes it tough. I love Tyson as well. He’s so competitive. If you think he’s going to get beat out, you’re probably going to be wrong.”The Bears will likely carry three quarterbacks for the season, valuing what Keenum can bring to Williams in his second season, helping him acclimate to Ben Johnson’s offense.(Photo of Case Keenum: Scott Galvin / Imagn Images)