No Mullens Mania for the Preseason Finale
Josh Frey
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Following a rather quiet outing last weekend from both Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond last weekend against the 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings decided they needed to make a move at QB. This move took form in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for Nick Mullens. About a week earlier, Mullens had put on a tryout performance for the Vikings, passing for 94 yards and touchdown against Minnesota’s defense. With the final preseason game in just a few hours, many were excited to potentially see Mullens’ first trial run when actually wearing purple, but it turns out, there will be no Mullens Mania in the preseason finale against the Denver Broncos.
Per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, the new Vikings quarterback will sit out the final preseason game as he continues to learn the offense. This means there will be at least one more competition between Mannion and Mond as Mannion will play the first half and Mond will play the second.
While it would have been nice to see Mullens toss the pigskin around tonight, this is likely in his best interest. The fifth-year veteran has played in a Kyle Shanahan offense, but he has never had either of Kevin O’Connell or Wes Phillips as a coach during his NFL career. Seeing as he had his first practice with the team on Tuesday, he is far behind the eight ball in terms of getting the offense down. There is very little reason to throw him out there tonight other if he is still figuring out O’Connell’s scheme,
As for Mannion and Mond, this game could determine which of them (if either of them) remains on the team as the QB3. Perhaps one of them will actually suit up as QB2 for the season opener against Green Bay to give Mullens a larger practice window. Seeing as Mannion will get the start, there’s reason to believe that he has the edge for the hypothetical QB2/QB3 spot going into the Broncos game.
Kickoff between the Broncos and Vikings is set for 8 PM Central.