Vikings Add a New QB in Response to Tidal Wave of Injuries
According to the team, a new quarterback has been welcomed to Minnesota. It’s an expected outcome given the injuries to QB1 Kirk Cousins, QB2 Nick Mullens, and QB3 Jaren Hall. Indeed, the Vikings add was a necessity since the depth has been raided by injury.
The man being tasked with shoring up the depth is Tanner Morgan, a name that should be familiar to a lot of people in Minnesota. After all, he was signed by the Vikings earlier in the season to function as depth. And, of course, he played his college ball for the Gophers.
Vikings Add a New QB
The injury tidal wave meant Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had to at least consider bringing in some free agent help. On Wednesday, the possibility became a reality.
Take a look at the word from the team’s official Twitter account: “The #Vikings have placed RB Cam Akers on IR. QB Tanner Morgan has been signed to the practice squad and DL Sheldon Day has been released from the practice squad.”
Of note: Akers was functioning as both the RB2 and emergency QB. Losing the former Ram thus involves getting thinner at both the running back and quarterback positions.
The simple fact that Morgan has been added to the practice squad means it’s likely Sean Mannion gets a promotion to the 53-man roster. The veteran has been in Minnesota for several weeks and would likely be the superior option if he was needed to hop into a game (as uninspiring as that would be for a lot of Vikings fans).
Morgan may not last in Minnesota for very long. It’s very possible that his spot with the team is contingent on the health of Nick Mullens and/or Jaren Hall. Once one of those two are back, Morgan could once again become a free agent.
The onus will fall on him to prove to the coaching staff that he’s worth keeping around for the remainder of the year, regardless of who gets healthy.
Previously, Josh Frey — the college football aficionado in this part of the internet — had this to say about Morgan: “His collegiate career at Minnesota got off to a very promising start, particularly during his sophomore season of 2019 where he completed 66% of his passes for 3253 yards, 30 TDs, and 7 INTs. His passing yards and passing TDs each ranked second in the Big Ten that year.”
Frey goes on: “Following that season, though, things progressively went downhill for Morgan and the Gophers. Minnesota finished the 2020 season with a 3-4 record and most recently have gone 9-4 in each of the 2021 and 2022 seasons with Guaranteed Rate Bowl and Pinstripe Bowl victories. In 2022, he played just nine games due to a hit taken in the first half of the Gophers game against Nebraska, and he completed 66.9% of his passes for 1382 yards, 9 TDs, and 5 INTs.”
Vikings fans will be hoping that neither Mannion nor Morgan are needed on Sunday. Josh Dobbs is the new sheriff in town, a development that is exciting plenty within Vikings fandom.
No shortage of digital ink has been spilled trying to explain Dobbs’ effort last Sunday. With a handful of days to prepare, Dobbs overcame the Falcons while on the road. He did so while working without Christian Darrisaw, Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, and Cam Akers. T.J. Hockenson and Brandon Powell were the walking wounded, playing through injuries.
Add it all up and it would have been very easy to excuse a Dobbs dud. Instead, it was a Dobbs dub (as the kids are saying).
Next up on the Vikings’ schedule is a game taking place inside U.S. Bank Stadium on November 12th. Beating the Saints will mean Minnesota sits at an unlikely 6-4 record after beginning the season with a 1-4 record.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.
You must be logged in to post a comment.