Case Keenum’s first priority in Denver has nothing to do with football

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Ask a Colorado native what the most Colorado thing they’ve done is, and you’ll likely want to take a seat as they pridefully elaborate on their home state.

Ask a non-Colorado native, say the Denver Broncos’ new starting quarterback Case Keenum, the same question and the answer won’t take nearly as long.

“Besides have chapped lips and dry skin all the time,” Keenum rhetorically joked, sending laughter through the media room on the team’s second day of their offseason conditioning program. Keenum then pondered the question deeper before adding he’s been to Wash Park.

Calm down, the Broncos new quarterback of about a month has seen the mountains, but conquering all 53 — of whatever the official count is — of the state’s 14ers is on the back burner for him at the moment.

Since signing with the Broncos just over a month ago, Case has gallivanted around the country, spending time in his home state of Texas before venturing off to his previous stop in Minnesota to accept the ‘Uncommon Award’ from Tony Dungy as mother nature “dumped” 25 inches on him in the Twin Cities.

Now, as he finally settles into his new sunny home in Denver, his first priority is elementary in nature.

“I want to learn everybody’s name,” he said honestly. “There’s a lot of new faces here, so it’s been absolutely great. Just want to make a good first impression and build on it. I’m going to be myself every day.”

Even with $36 million coming his way in the next 20 months, Keenum still is, in fact, human and does, in fact, need to simply learn the names of his teammates and the lay of the land at Dove Valley.

“I’m just trying to get in the building and become familiar with everything,” he said, sounding no different than a kid on their first day at a new school. “Trying to learn names and also how things work. How coaches operate, how meetings are going to work, where we’re going, trying to get to and from meetings and weights and a bunch of stuff like that.”

After he gets everyone’s name down in the next few days — from Von Miller to new strength coach Loren Landow — his priorities won’t shift much.

Of course, he’s already taken a deep dive into the new playbook, which is like learning a new language according to nearly every player in the NFL including Case. But in April, the 30-year-old believes sticking with the “getting to know you” path is the best plan of action for any new player, let alone the signal caller of the Denver Broncos.

The talk at the lunch table the first few days of the Broncos’ offseason conditioning program hasn’t been about X’s and O’s, though, despite a popular belief that football players only eat and sleep football.

“I just want to get to know the guys. Are you married? Do you have kids? What do you do? How are you off the field?” He said, divulging the lunchroom conversations. “I try to build a relationship there and start there. On-the-field stuff comes more from action than from words… Getting to know the person is more important.”

As for the on-field work, that’ll have to hold off for a few more weeks as NFL rules only allow teams to work in the weight room during Phase One of the conditioning program. Keenum, however, has thought about putting together an off-campus workout, potentially similar to the passing camp Peyton Manning most famously held during his time with the Broncos.

“I’m not afraid to work. I know these guys aren’t afraid either. Yeah, I’m sure we’ll get something going,” he said, when asked if he’ll put something together off the team’s facilities. “I want to make sure I get together off campus and get to know people. I think that’s important for chemistry in the locker room.”

While there’s no question Case is putting his best foot forward now, in just over one week there is a chance John Elway uses the Broncos No. 5 overall pick on Keenum’s eventual successor. If that’s the route ol’ No. 7 goes in the draft, that won’t change Keenum’s pleasant approach.

“I’m excited for whoever comes in is going to make us better,” Keenum said, even if that player is a quarterback. “That’s what competition breeds within your own team. I think it makes you better. Whoever comes in is going to help us be a better football team no matter what position it is. I know they’re going to draft a lot of positions. That doesn’t change my mindset at all.”