Which players are winning position battles for the Minnesota Vikings?
By Adam Carlson
Backup quarterback: Mannion vs. Sloter
Kirk Cousins is the man in Minnesota. They paid him to be the starting quarterback when they brought him in and he has assumed that role since his arrival. That won’t change. However, the depth behind him is getting shaken up quite a bit.
Last year’s backup, Trevor Siemian, has changed locations and will be playing his football primarily in New Jersey this year, opening the door for a battle between fan-favorite Kyle Sloter and Sean Mannion, which had an early favorite in camp in the five-year veteran.
Things have changed a bit since then. Sloter has once again outperformed his veteran competitor in the preseason, but that doesn’t seem to hold too much weight. In fact, the Star Tribune talked about how Mike Zimmer’s criticism of the quarterback and will keep letting his play do the talking.
It appears as though it would take a pretty epic performance from Sloter and collapse from Mannion for the underdog to win that backup job. With only two preseason games and limited time left, that doesn’t seem likely at all.