And happy Friday 1:20 to those who celebrate!

Don't forget to join the Friday 1:20 Club at Murphy's Bleachers at 10 a.m. today (we might be there a little earlier) and all throughout the season ahead of Friday games at Wrigley Field.

Come say hello this morning, and maybe Greg Braggs Jr. will buy you a drink.

– ​Patrick Norton​

The Bears are signing veteran quarterback Case Keenum to a one-year deal worth $3 million. Mark Carman — yes, that Mark Carman — wants it known that ​he broke the news​ seven minutes before Adam Schefter.

This is the veteran presence I think a lot of people wanted for Caleb Williams last year and thought he'd have.

Brett Rypien spent most of last year's training camp with the Bears before being cut, but his experience in the NFL was almost exclusively as a backup quarterback, starting just four games since coming into the league in 2020.

While Keenum has spent his fair share of time on the bench, he's also started (and won) a playoff game and started 66 regular season games.

Whatever the motivation was to not surround Williams with experienced voices in his rookie season, signing Keenum is another obvious pivot from that strategy, which failed and ultimately doomed the last coaching staff.

At this point in his career, Keenum's role with the Bears will be to serve as both a mentor and likely as the emergency third QB on game days. His presence also allows Chicago to explore the possibility of moving second-string Tyson Bagent, who enters the third and final year of his contract with the Bears.

That route seems unlikely, though, as Bagent has proven himself to be a capable backup in the NFL, starting four games while Justin Fields recovered from a thumb injury two years ago.

The only way I can realistically see Bagent moved is if another team's QB room is running thin and Bagent has an opportunity to compete for a starting job.

Chicago also announced the signings of WR Miles Boykin and DB Shaun Wade on Thursday. Neither player actually saw any live action in 2024, but both have picked up extensive special teams snaps throughout their careers.

Boykin, 28, is a native of Tinley Park, Ill. and graduated from Providence Catholic High School before continuing his career at Notre Dame.

GO DEEPER: ​Adam Hoge's latest 'Bears Things' discusses where each offensive position group stands heading into the NFL Draft.​

Shoutout to reader Michael Halatek, who responded to Thursday's email with his take on where he'd like to see the Bears' new stadium:

Arlington Heights is the best location. Served by I-90 and 290, as well as a Metra Station, little needs to be done with existing infrastructure.

The racetrack often drew 50,000 fans, and there was no tailgating before and after races. 75,000 (or more) coming to the new stadium with arrival time spread out before the game as well as afterward would not tax the existing infrastructure as many fear.

And, of course, we are talking about only 8-10 game days per year.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the stadium project, too! Hit reply to this email, and I might feature your response in my next post on allchgo.com!

CHGO's Sean Anderson asked a great question about the new look yesterday:
What do the pants look like?

What are your thoughts on the uniform? Let me know!