AP

Case Keenum had never in his NFL career been a team’s established starter during the offseason, but this year in Denver, he is. And the Broncos like his leadership.

Keenum has started 38 games in his NFL career, but he’s always been the starter either because someone else got hurt, as was the case last year in Minnesota, or knowing that someone else was being groomed to take the job, as was the case the year before in Los Angeles. The Broncos, who gave Keenum a two-year, $36 million contract this offseason, are making no secret of the fact that Keenum is their man.

The Broncos are already singing Keenum’s praises as a leader, and even Paxton Lynch, the former first-round pick who is relegated to backup behind Keenum, is happy to have the veteran aboard.

“I was really excited, actually, when we got Case for the fact he’s a veteran guy who’s been through it a little bit and had his ups and downs,” Lynch told the Denver Post. “The way he carries himself and handles himself – he’s a pro and that only benefits me and the other guys in the locker room and the other guys in the quarterback room.”

Keenum wouldn’t be there if Lynch had become the kind of quarterback John Elway thought he was when the Broncos took him in the first round two years ago. But perhaps Lynch can learn something from Keenum about how to develop into a starter, even if it takes some time.