Report: Vikings not expected to use franchise tag on Keenum

The Minnesota Vikings could be in the running for this offseason's top free-agent quarterbacks.

The Vikings aren't expected to use the franchise tag on Case Keenum, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Keenum is scheduled to become a free agent when the new league year begins March 14. The franchise tag would cost the Vikings an estimated $23.29 million for 2018.

Signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2012, Keenum enjoyed a career year as a 29-year-old in 2017 (he turned 30 on Feb. 17).

Playing on a one-year, $2-million contract, he played 15 games, making 14 starts in place of an injured Sam Bradford. He completed 67.6 percent of 481 pass attempts for 3,547 yards and 22 touchdowns in the regular season, though his completion percentage dipped to 60.2 in two playoff games, as he threw for 589 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Keenum has spent time with the Texans, St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, and Vikings over five NFL seasons.

Minnesota, fresh off a trip to the NFC Championship Game, appears set to look for a new signal-caller, as Keenum, Bradford, and Teddy Bridgewater will all see their contracts expire at the end of the 2017 league year.

They'll have roughly $49 million in cap space - the ninth-most in the league, according to Over The Cap - and could become serious suitors for Kirk Cousins, who's widely regarded as the top available QB.

Gil Brandt of NFL.com reports that there's interest on both sides between Cousins and the Vikings.

Equipped with the No. 30 pick in the 2018 draft, the Vikings could also look to fill their quarterback need with a rookie.

Wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, running back Dalvin Cook, and the league's No. 1 scoring defense from 2017 are sure to help them lure any target, as they seem set to contend for the next several seasons.