Questions Answered: Surprising Elements of Roster Cuts, Trade Serenity, Mullens as QB4?
Dustin Baker
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The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by PurplePTSD. Today is the August 23rd edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
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Q: What are the biggest surprises for Vikings roster cuts so far?
A: As a nine-year NFL veteran, Albert Wilson probably thought he was flying high after snagging two touchdowns out of the sky during the first preseason game. He looked great. But the Vikings didn’t view him as a long-term commodity, evidently releasing him in favor of younger WRs like Myron Mitchell, Trishton Jackson, and Jalen Nailor.
Harrison Hand was surprising merely because he felt like a next-week roster casualty. The Vikings drafted Hand in 2020. Releasing the homegrown product before the 53-man roster raised some fans’ eyebrows.
Other than Wilson and Hand, roster cuts have been business as usual.
Q: Doesn’t it seem like the trade for Nick Mullens is the first one embraced by all Vikings fans in a long time?
A: Yes.
The reason why the Mullens trade is welcomed with both arms? The Vikings traded virtually nothing for him. Mullens was swapped for a conditional 7th-Rounder, effectively zilch in an NFL trade.
Mullens has the ceiling to serve as a productive QB2, and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah scooped him — basically for free.
Plus, in the last six years, the Vikings have traded for Chris Herndon, Yannick Ngakoue, Kaare Vedvik, and Sam Bradford right around this time on the calendar. Those deals were controversial; this one is not. Mullens, by all accounts, was a wise trade target.
Q: Why is Nick Mullens listed as the QB4 on the team’s depth chart?
A: Well, Mullens must crawl before he can walk.
The Vikings won’t anoint Mullens the QB2 “just because.” He must earn the title in practice and in the final preseason game (if he’s up to speed).
But make no mistake — Mullens is the QB2. In fact, he’s one of the better QB2s in the world, evidenced by his career mark of 243.1 passing yards per game.
Give it time. Probably a week when the 53-man roster is finalized.
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).
