Sloter outperforming Mannion
During last week’s preseason win over the Saints, Vikings quarterback Kyle Sloter proved that he deserves to be considered for the No. 2 job behind Kirk Cousins this year just as much as Sean Mannion does.
Mannion may have the “experience”, but Sloter has an element to his game that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.
This was evident again on Sunday night against the Seahawks. Sloter entered the game in the second half and during two of the offense’s first three drives with him under center, touchdowns were scored. He finished the night completing 11 of his 13 passes for 116 yards and one touchdown.
During his presser after the win, Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer said that Sloter just, “continues to do well,” whenever they put him in the game.
As for Mannion, he threw two scores on Sunday night; one for the Vikings and one for Seattle. In the second quarter, he threw a pass that was intended for Minnesota receiver Chad Beebe but it ended up getting intercepted by a Seahawks defender and returned 88 yards the other way for a touchdown.
At this point, the Vikings aren’t doing themselves any favors by not at least seeing what Sloter can do with the second-team offense. He’s proven over and over (and over) again that he at least deserves an opportunity to try and win the backup job.
Sloter’s upside is much higher than Mannion’s and Minnesota needs to realize this before they name the wrong guy their No. 2 quarterback for this season.