Vikings quarterback Case Keenum has been one of the NFL’s biggest bargains this season. That should change in 2018.

Making $2 million in his first season in Minnesota, Keenum has gone 7-2 as the starter for the 9-2 Vikings. One salary-cap analyst estimates the pending free agent could make more than seven times that next season.

“A lot will depend on how the year ends, but based on how he’s doing right now, if I had to put an estimate on it, I would say he probably is going to get a contract worth about $15 million a year, like three years, $45 million,” said Jason Fitzgerald, who runs the web site OvertheCap.com.

Fitzgerald based his projection in part on the three-year, $45 million free-agent contract that Mike Glennon got from the Chicago Bears last spring. That deal turned out to be a mistake; Glennon lost his job Mitchell Trubisky after four games. But it showed how teams value quarterbacks in a league without a lot of great ones.

“If you have an arm and can throw a little bit, there’s such a scarcity of talent at the position, and I think there’s a lot of worries about guys coming in from college unless you’re looked at as a super prospect and are going to be picked in the top five of the draft,” Fitzgerald said.

After five mostly uninspiring NFL seasons, Keenum has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 2,476 yards with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions in his first year with the Vikings. He has the NFL’s 10th-best passer rating at 96.2. Related Articles Despite veteran lineup, Vikings’ offense has been horrendous

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Keenum took over for Sam Bradford, who suffered a left knee injury and is now on injured, and has played well enough to keep former starter Teddy Bridgewater on the bench. Bridgewater hasn’t played since suffering a torn ACL in August 2016 but was activated from the physically unable to perform list three weeks ago.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Friday that Keenum again will start next Sunday at Atlanta, but Zimmer has not committed to him beyond that.

Fitzgerald said if Keenum were to lead Minnesota on an extended playoff run, his market value could rise to as much as $18 million annually. He does not see a scenario, though, in which Keenum could command the franchise tag from the Vikings, which would be more than $20 million a year.

Fitzgerald could see Keenum getting a contract extension from Minnesota for three years that is guaranteed for the first year and then has few guarantees after that. Then the Vikings could cut ties with Keenum if he doesn’t remain the starter or doesn’t duplicate his success of 2017.

Keenum, Bridgewater and Bradford all can become free agents next March, but any could be re-signed by the Vikings before then. There is language in the collective bargaining agreement that because Bridgewater was on the PUP list for the first six weeks and is in the last year of his contract, his 2017 salary of $1.354 million could be extended, or “tolled,” to next season.

Fitzgerald doesn’t see that happening.

“I think the Vikings want to keep things nice and harmonious,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re going to push the issue of tolling his contract because (Bridgewater) could win that in a grievance that he was healthy enough to play before the sixth week of the season but couldn’t because he was on the (PUP) list. I think they will try to work out some kind of extension for him and not … get the players union involved and (have) it be something messy.”

Fitzgerald said it would be helpful in evaluating Bridgewater if he gets playing time this season. Regardless, he sees a scenario in which Bridgewater returns on a short-term deal for between $6 million and $7 million a year plus incentives.

“He has showed enough before (the injury) that he could get something like (Robert Griffin III) did when he was coming off injury,” he said. Griffen got a $6.75 million guaranteed deal from Cleveland in 2016.

Fitzgerald said Bradford, if his knee checks out, also might be looking at a short-term, free-agent deal worth between $6 million and $7 million a year plus incentives. He’s making $18 million this season.

Until he was hurt in the opener against New Orleans, and subsequently looked back in one half at Chicago in Week 5, Bradford had been looking at a possible long-term deal worth more than $20 million a season.

“He’s going to lose a lot,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s been plagued by injuries his whole career. I think it’s an uphill battle now for him.”

Fitzgerald does not see a scenario in which Bradford returns to Minnesota. Instead, he sees the Vikings re-signing Keenum and Bridgewater before they become free agents in March. In that scenario, Keenum and Bridgewater would combine to make a bit more than $20 million next season, a manageable amount for their top two quarterbacks. The Vikings then would have a year to see which quarterback earns the top job.

“I think that’s the best scenario for them, and then they really decide in the future who the (starting) quarterback is unless Keenum leads them to the Super Bowl,” Fitzgerald said.