Now that their initial 53-man roster is set, the Seattle Seahawks have to fill out their practice squad.
Here is where we will be tracking reported signings for the 2022 squad.
Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Now that their initial 53-man roster is set, the Seattle Seahawks have to fill out their practice squad.
Now that their initial 53-man roster is set, the Seattle Seahawks have to fill out their practice squad.
Here is where we will be tracking reported signings for the 2022 squad.
The writing was on the wall once Nick Mullens was traded for
The Minnesota Vikings look to only be keeping two quarterbacks on the initial 53-man roster with the release of quarterback Sean Mannion on Tuesday.
The #Vikings are releasing Sean Mannion today, according to a source. He could wind up back on their practice squad if he doesn’t sign elsewhere.
— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) August 30, 2022
After losing Trevor Siemian to free agency after the 2018 season, the Vikings brought in Mannion to be the backup quarterback to Kirk Cousins. While he isn’t the greatest on-field player, he was brought in to be an extra set of eyes and ears for Cousins, one of the most durable quarterbacks in the NFL.
When he did get into the game, it wasn’t pretty. He started the win or go home game against the Green Bay Packers in week 17 last season and it ended up being a disastrous 37-10 blowout loss.
This preseason, he and Kellen Mond were vying for the backup quarterback job, but both of them performed so poorly in their own right that the Vikings made a trade for Nick Mullens.
While he is no longer on the initial 53-man roster, an expanded 16 player practice squad could be the place for Mannion who has a rapport with Cousins.
Be sure to keep tabs on all the Vikings roster cuts with our tracker.
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The Vikings lost a tough game to the Broncos, dropping them to 0-3 in the preseason
The Minnesota Vikings played well at times but lost a tough game to the Denver Broncos 23-13.
The focus was on the quarterbacks, as the Viking acquired Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday morning. He did not get into the game, so we got Sean Mannion in the first half and Kellen Mond in the second half
Both guys struggled throughout the game. Mannion went 9-of-16 for 121 yards and had the worst play of the game for the Vikings. He was strip-sacked and Baron Browning took it for what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
When Kellen Mond took over in the second half, things didn’t get any better. He finished 10-of-17 for 102 yards while looking lost and uncomfortable in the pocket during the entire half.
The biggest takeaway regarding the quarterback position is it shouldn’t have either Mannion or Mond rostered as neither has proven that they can be a quality NFL quarterback.
Running back Ty Chandler looked like the best Viking on the field, showcasing his elite burst and speed with great vision. He finished the day with five rushes for 44 yards at a staggering 8.8 yards per rush.
The defense had a lot of ups and downs. Some of that was due to the injuries that the unit sustained. They also got caught over pursuing consistently, including on a reverse touchdown for Montrell Washington.
Myles Dorn was the highlight of the defense. He was all over the field on Saturday night with six tackles and two passes defended. With Metellus getting injured early on, Dorn might have earned himself a roster spot.
Now that the preseason is done, the Vikings look toward two dates: cut down day on August 30th and week one against the Green Bay Packers on September 11th.
Finishing winless in the preseason isn’t ideal, but the development of players and talent evaluation is more important. The Vikings have a lot of decisions to make over the next 72 hours and you can keep track of all those decisions here.
During tonight’s final preseason game against the Denver Broncos, here are three things you should be watching for.
The preseason for the Minnesota Vikings wraps up tonight as they take on the Denver Broncos at 8 pm central time.
The third preseason game is an interesting one this year for the Vikings. Historically, it has been the game where the starters get the most run in preparation for the regular season opener in just 10 days.
With only three preseason games, that contest has moved to the second game. The Vikings, having had joint practices with the San Francisco 49ers during the week chose to rest all but one of their starters.
Going into Saturday’s game, head coach Kevin O’Connell hadn’t given any clear direction as to whether the starters would be playing in the game.
They never locked in publicly, but based on what they did say, I would be surprised if the Vikings played many starters tonight. Lots of back-roster playing time… https://t.co/abLVT7INe4
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) August 27, 2022
For the sake of this piece, we are going with the assumption that the Vikings choose not to play the starters and we get to see a lot of developmental players get quality snaps. With that in mind, here are three things to watch for in Saturday’s game against the Broncos.
THe opinions on Mullens are mostly positive
The Minnesota Vikings were massively struggling at the quarterback position.
Behind Kirk Cousins, the Vikings were in a rough spot. Both Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond had poor performances against the San Francisco 49ers. After the game, there were a barrage of opinions that the Vikings needed to upgrade at the backup quarterback position.
On Monday morning, the Vikings did just that. They acquired Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders. They sent a 2024 conditional seventh-round pick.
The acquisition of Mullens is interesting, as Mullens is high up on lists for total stats in such a small sample size.
On that Nick Mullens thought: Most career passing yards for an NFL quarterback with 20 career games or fewer:
Nick Mullens 4,861
Mac Jones 3,801
John Skelton 3,707
Trevor Lawrence 3,641
Craig Whelihan 3,160Skelton and Whelihan tell you it doesn't make him great, just unusual.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 22, 2022
The reaction to the news elicited numerous reactions and analyses across social media.
What a massive win for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. If Mullens doesn't work out, the Vikings don't give up an asset. If it does, they massively upgraded the backup QB position https://t.co/gJsGkR7FT0
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) August 22, 2022
Pros: Very low price. Nick Mullens is not Kellen Mond nor Sean Mannion. The Vikings *might* be less screwed if Cousins misses significant time.
Cons: The Vikings are still *probably* screwed if Cousins misses significant time. https://t.co/mPM9HdUeqQ— Eric Thompson (@eric_j_thompson) August 22, 2022
That’s my QB2 “I just love football”
pic.twitter.com/lpAfv9DCpQ— Matt Anderson (@MattAnderson_8) August 22, 2022
Kellen Mond is entering year two of his four year rookie deal. He didn’t show enough to secure the backup spot in Y2. Kirk is still under contract next year. Leaving 1 “open” year.
Yikes that’s a rough timeline for Mond. https://t.co/lNFJItgSF3
— Spencer Thompson (@ThompsonNFL) August 22, 2022
As others have noted, new #Vikings QB Nick Mullens was with San Francisco and overlapped from 2017-19 when Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was in 49ers front office.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 22, 2022
and meets the Vikings back up QB requirement that the last name starts with ‘M’ https://t.co/aVdjBG3Qzn
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) August 22, 2022
aaaahhh soooo https://t.co/fh2ZIQU19l
— Declan Goff (@DexsTweets) August 22, 2022
#Vikings get a new backup QB and there is some familiarity here for Kwesi
He and Nick Mullens spent time together in San Fran and Cleveland. https://t.co/uw0C7SMSCG
— Matt Anderson (@MattAnderson_8) August 22, 2022
Very competent backup. Which is all anyone ever asked. https://t.co/eeYD0Y22EI
— Ted Glover (@purplebuckeye) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens: Minnesota Vikings QB
▪️17 career starts
▪️21/29 (72.4%) this preseasonShould have a clear path to be Kirk Cousins’ backup considering what we have seen from Mond/Mannionpic.twitter.com/WfP00hMqUr
— Dom Cintorino (@domcinto_11) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens is the ideal backup QB for Kirk Cousins. Not an exciting trade, but a necessary one. Nice job, Kwesi!
— JV (@JVSwaps) August 22, 2022
IT SMELLS LIKE FOOTBALL BABY LETS SEE THOSE LEAVES CHANGE AND PUMPKIN LATTES WE'VE GOT A NICK MULLENS TRADE https://t.co/IVw17WTT46
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens is a perfectly competent backup. It was a smart move that needed to be done. And now we can stop talking about the backup QB as god intended.
— Forester93, Tree Bitch (@Forester932) August 22, 2022
I like the Nick Mullens pickup for the Vikings. He's a capable backup-caliber player with 17 career starts who probably has a higher floor and ceiling than both Mannion and Mond. Giving up a conditional seventh to secure a better option there makes a lot of sense.
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens does not look great if you peek at his PFF grades and where he ranks. But he's also had a 100+ passer rating in five NFL football games. That's more experience and probably a higher ceiling than Mond or Mannion offer you.
— Sam Ekstrom (@SamEkstrom) August 22, 2022
Potentially rolling into the regular season with a QB group of:
Kirk Cousins (34)
Nick Mullens (27)
Kellen Mond (23) https://t.co/0LLXVOGttj— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens broke Brett Favre's single season yards and TD records at Southern Miss. So, based on that very specific stat, we got a guy better than Brett Favre for a 7th. Steal of the Century. Excuse me while I drink more purple Kool-Aid.
— Carl Rottman (@CarlRottman) August 22, 2022
In the Aug. 14 preseason opener, Nick Mullens looked good against the #Vikings. He completed 7 of 9 passes for 94 yards with a 34-yard touchdown pass and had an impressive passer rating of 147.2.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 22, 2022
NFL teams usually only keep 3 QBs if they are developing one, and lots of teams go into the season with only 2.
If Nick Mullens secures QB2, Sean Mannion is the clear odd one out. The question becomes: Does Kellen Mond survive roster cuts? Does this staff believe he can improve?
— Conner Wickland (@ConnerWickland) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens is a big upgrade.
— Jim Souhan (@SouhanStrib) August 22, 2022
Timely move for the #Vikings trading for Nick Mullens. Legitimate backup behind Cousins.
— Kevin Brown (@KevinBrownNFL) August 22, 2022
Major takeaways from the Vikings loss against the 49ers
After joint practices for two days earlier this week, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Minnesota Vikings 17-7 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Just an hour and a half before game time, the Vikings announced that 27 of their 85 players on the roster would not play.
In turn, the 49ers also announced that they would also not be playing 27 players.
Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo and Kirk Cousins all missed the game, meaning it was an opportunity for the backup quarterbacks for both sides to get meaningful reps.
For two offensive coaches, the offense was pretty sloppy throughout. Dropped passes, multiple turnovers and numerous missed opportunities for big plays.
Some of that is on the quarterbacks, as they are not what you would consider NFL starting-caliber quarterbacks. The running game was inconsistent on both sides, although the 49ers turned it up at the end of the game to seal the deal.
The game itself left us with some vital takeaways. Here were my four biggest takeaways from Saturday night’s loss.
The first half had some major takeaways
After joint practices for two days earlier this week, the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings are currently playing at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Just an hour and a half before game time, the Vikings announced that 27 of their 85 players on the roster would not play.
In turn, the 49ers also announced that they would also not be playing 27 players.
Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo and Kirk Cousins all missed the game, meaning it was an opportunity for the backup quarterbacks for both sides to get meaningful reps.
The first half left us with some strong takeaways. Here were the three takeaways from the first half.
Our season previews begin with the quarterback position
The 2022 season is less than a month away and it’s time to get excited Vikings fans.
In a similar vein to how fans felt when Mike Zimmer took over for Leslie Frazier, the excitement is palpable for the beginning of the Kevin O’Connell era.
While the team prepares for the season, we are doing the same at the Vikings Wire. We will be producing previews breaking down both each position and the team as a whole.
Today, we start with the most important position: quarterback.
Winners and losers from the Vikings’ preseason opener.
The Minnesota Vikings just completed their first preseason game, a 26-20 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night.
While you want to win preseason games, the most important part of them is seeing growth and development from your young players. For the Vikings, they also are using this time to install a new scheme on both sides of the football.
Within the game, there were definite winners and losers based on their performances in the matchup.
The Vikings lost to the Raiders in Las Vegas but Kellen Mond threw a pair of TD passes
Kirk Cousins will be the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings once he returns from COVID-19.
Who will be his backup is open to discussion.
The Vikings began their preseason Sunday with a 26-20 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders and both Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond handled the quarterback duties.
Mannion started and went 8-of-12 for 79 yards.
Mond, a third-round pick out of Texas A&M in 2021, came on and was 9-of-14 for 119 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Albert Wilson.
First TD pass of the preseason for @TheKellenMond. 🔥
📺: #MINvsLV on @NFLNetwork (check local listings)
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/sIL5rVJL5k pic.twitter.com/1shWA5HKO3— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2022
Kellen Mond and Albert Wilson TD x2 ‼️ @TheKellenMond | @iThinkIsee12
📺: #MINvsLV on @NFLNetwork (check local listings)
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/sIL5rVJL5k pic.twitter.com/TQmqvP2fPi— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2022
Mannion is heading into his third season as a Viking after 4 years with the Rams. He has thrown 1 TD pass against 3 interceptions in his NFL career.
Mond barely saw the field in his rookie season, going 2-for-3 for 5 yards.
New coach Kevin O’Connell will eventually decide whether the journeyman Mannin is the backup or if Mond could have a future as the successor to the veteran Cousins.