TRADE! Vikings Pull the Trigger at QB
Dustin Baker
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Apparently unsatisfied with the existing QB2 situation, the Minnesota Vikings executed a trade on Monday for veteran QB Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah sent a conditional 7th Round pick in 2024 to Las Vegas for Mullens.
The move happened after an underwhelming weekend for the Vikings at quarterback. Head coach Kevin O’Connell has opted to rest QB1 Kirk Cousins during the first two preseason games, along with many other starters. That paved the way for a comprehensive examination of second-year passer Kellen Mond and veteran Sean Mannion.
Minnesota was evidently unimpressed.
Onlookers of the Vikings will welcome the transaction as contentment with the Mond-Mannion experiment soured after the 49ers exhibition. While Mond still has time to develop as an NFL quarterback, he doesn’t seem ready to lead an offense in the event Cousins misses games. With Mullens, the Vikings can tread water.
Mullen’s addition to the depth chart also signals the end for Mannion, who’s in his eighth season. The Vikings are more likely to stash a 23-year-old Mond on the practice squad than a 30-year-old Mannion — and rightfully so.
To date, this is Mullens’ resume via team:
- San Francisco 49ers (2017-2020)
- Philadelphia Eagles (2021)
- Cleveland Browns (2021)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2022)
Mullens was cut by the Eagles last summer before landing with the Browns.
Plucked as an undrafted free agent after the 2017 NFL Draft by the 49ers, Adofo-Mensah was a part of San Francisco’s front office during the first part of Mullen’s stay out west. So, the proverbial “GM and player ties” are on display in the trade. Mullens also played in Cleveland last year, which is where — you guessed it — Adofo-Mensah was employed.
Mullens has started 17 career games en route to 243.1 passing yards per game and 26-TD to 22-INT split. Teams led by Mullens are 5-12 (.294), and he has a career passer rating of 87.3. Almost all Mullens’ starts occurred in San Francisco in 2018 and 2020.
A QB2 on the surface isn’t “that big of a deal,” but the Vikings were forced to rely on Sam Bradford (2016) and Case Keenum (2017) in the last six years, both of whom were QB2 contingency plans.
Mullens is 27 years old.
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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