The Minnesota Vikings were massively struggling at the quarterback position.
Behind Kirk Cousins, the Vikings were in a rough spot. Both Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond had poor performances against the San Francisco 49ers. After the game, there were a barrage of opinions that the Vikings needed to upgrade at the backup quarterback position.
On Monday morning, the Vikings did just that. They acquired Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders. They sent a 2024 conditional seventh-round pick.
The acquisition of Mullens is interesting, as Mullens is high up on lists for total stats in such a small sample size.
On that Nick Mullens thought: Most career passing yards for an NFL quarterback with 20 career games or fewer:
Nick Mullens 4,861
Mac Jones 3,801
John Skelton 3,707
Trevor Lawrence 3,641
Craig Whelihan 3,160Skelton and Whelihan tell you it doesn't make him great, just unusual.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 22, 2022
The reaction to the news elicited numerous reactions and analyses across social media.
What a massive win for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. If Mullens doesn't work out, the Vikings don't give up an asset. If it does, they massively upgraded the backup QB position https://t.co/gJsGkR7FT0
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) August 22, 2022
Pros: Very low price. Nick Mullens is not Kellen Mond nor Sean Mannion. The Vikings *might* be less screwed if Cousins misses significant time.
Cons: The Vikings are still *probably* screwed if Cousins misses significant time. https://t.co/mPM9HdUeqQ— Eric Thompson (@eric_j_thompson) August 22, 2022
That’s my QB2 “I just love football”
pic.twitter.com/lpAfv9DCpQ— Matt Anderson (@MattAnderson_8) August 22, 2022
Kellen Mond is entering year two of his four year rookie deal. He didn’t show enough to secure the backup spot in Y2. Kirk is still under contract next year. Leaving 1 “open” year.
Yikes that’s a rough timeline for Mond. https://t.co/lNFJItgSF3
— Spencer Thompson (@ThompsonNFL) August 22, 2022
As others have noted, new #Vikings QB Nick Mullens was with San Francisco and overlapped from 2017-19 when Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was in 49ers front office.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 22, 2022
and meets the Vikings back up QB requirement that the last name starts with ‘M’ https://t.co/aVdjBG3Qzn
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) August 22, 2022
aaaahhh soooo https://t.co/fh2ZIQU19l
— Declan Goff (@DexsTweets) August 22, 2022
#Vikings get a new backup QB and there is some familiarity here for Kwesi
He and Nick Mullens spent time together in San Fran and Cleveland. https://t.co/uw0C7SMSCG
— Matt Anderson (@MattAnderson_8) August 22, 2022
Very competent backup. Which is all anyone ever asked. https://t.co/eeYD0Y22EI
— Ted Glover (@purplebuckeye) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens: Minnesota Vikings QB
▪️17 career starts
▪️21/29 (72.4%) this preseasonShould have a clear path to be Kirk Cousins’ backup considering what we have seen from Mond/Mannionpic.twitter.com/WfP00hMqUr
— Dom Cintorino (@domcinto_11) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens is the ideal backup QB for Kirk Cousins. Not an exciting trade, but a necessary one. Nice job, Kwesi!
— JV (@JVSwaps) August 22, 2022
IT SMELLS LIKE FOOTBALL BABY LETS SEE THOSE LEAVES CHANGE AND PUMPKIN LATTES WE'VE GOT A NICK MULLENS TRADE https://t.co/IVw17WTT46
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens is a perfectly competent backup. It was a smart move that needed to be done. And now we can stop talking about the backup QB as god intended.
— Forester93, Tree Bitch (@Forester932) August 22, 2022
I like the Nick Mullens pickup for the Vikings. He's a capable backup-caliber player with 17 career starts who probably has a higher floor and ceiling than both Mannion and Mond. Giving up a conditional seventh to secure a better option there makes a lot of sense.
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens does not look great if you peek at his PFF grades and where he ranks. But he's also had a 100+ passer rating in five NFL football games. That's more experience and probably a higher ceiling than Mond or Mannion offer you.
— Sam Ekstrom (@SamEkstrom) August 22, 2022
Potentially rolling into the regular season with a QB group of:
Kirk Cousins (34)
Nick Mullens (27)
Kellen Mond (23) https://t.co/0LLXVOGttj— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens broke Brett Favre's single season yards and TD records at Southern Miss. So, based on that very specific stat, we got a guy better than Brett Favre for a 7th. Steal of the Century. Excuse me while I drink more purple Kool-Aid.
— Carl Rottman (@CarlRottman) August 22, 2022
In the Aug. 14 preseason opener, Nick Mullens looked good against the #Vikings. He completed 7 of 9 passes for 94 yards with a 34-yard touchdown pass and had an impressive passer rating of 147.2.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 22, 2022
NFL teams usually only keep 3 QBs if they are developing one, and lots of teams go into the season with only 2.
If Nick Mullens secures QB2, Sean Mannion is the clear odd one out. The question becomes: Does Kellen Mond survive roster cuts? Does this staff believe he can improve?
— Conner Wickland (@ConnerWickland) August 22, 2022
Nick Mullens is a big upgrade.
— Jim Souhan (@SouhanStrib) August 22, 2022
Timely move for the #Vikings trading for Nick Mullens. Legitimate backup behind Cousins.
— Kevin Brown (@KevinBrownNFL) August 22, 2022
