Ex-Vikings Passer Takes Home USFL Honor

Ex-Vikings Passer Takes Home USFL Honor
Kyle Sloter

Chalk another “I knew it” marker down for Minnesota Vikings fans because former quarterback Kyle Sloter was named ‘All-USFL’ this week, one of the league’s highest honors.

Sloter quarterbacks the New Orleans Breakers, a team headed to the USFL playoffs next weekend, and he’s taking the league by storm.

Sloter leads the USFL in passing yards through nine weeks and is among the leaders in the USFL’s version of QBR. He’s also a frontrunner for the MVP award, which will be announced within a few weeks.

The ex-Viking was a reservist quarterback for Minnesota in three seasons (2017, 2018, 2021). Sloter habitually looked fantastic in preseason games, leading an unusual amount of fans to call for his promotion on the depth chart.

Since 2017, Sloter has signed with seven different NFL teams, while never catching on as a QB2. So when he wound up in the USFL — and thrived — Vikings fans maintained an “of course he did” posture because, to the naked eye, Sloter played tremendously with the team in exhibition games.

Kyle Sloter
Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports.

Undrafted from Northern Colorado five years ago, Sloter ended up with the neighboring Denver Broncos in 2017. With Denver, Sloter was marvelous in the preseason — surprise, surprise — but was ultimately released before the 2017 regular season started. Soon after, Sloter joined the Vikings, remaining on the roster for two years and returning briefly in 2021. As a preseason performer, Sloter owns an 11-touchdown to one interception split, which is why his cult following is so robust.

A couple of weeks ago, Sloter revealed his belief that he should’ve received a more fair shake with the Vikings, telling Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, “Sean Mannion was two years my senior, and I was just a young guy so that’s a big gap in knowledge. Although I think my play was superior, I think they saw in Sean the ability to help Kirk in the classroom, and that was valued more.”

After the USFL season concludes, with or without a championship for Sloter’s Breakers, the next step is to determine if his USFL bedazzlement lands him an NFL job — one that could actually afford a QB2 gig.

Sloter has never attempted a regular-season pass in the NFL.

The Breakers take on the Birmingham Stallions in the 1st Round of the USFL playoffs on June 25th.


Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).

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