Kyle Sloter thought his play was ‘superior’ to current Vikings QB in 2019

Back in 2019, Kyler Sloter came up short in his battle with Sean Mannion to be the backup quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.

When looking back at the 2019 preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, there was no question that Kyle Sloter was the better performer out on the field than Sean Mannion when the two were competing to win the No. 2 quarterback job behind Kirk Cousins.

In four exhibition games that summer, Sloter finished with a 120.0 passer rating while Mannion ended up with a 93.2 passer rating in his three preseason appearances.

But the Vikings weren’t really interested in a backup who could perform well out on the field in 2019. Minnesota preferred to have someone who could help Cousins in the meeting room and on the sidelines. So when it came time to finalize their 2019 roster, the Vikings went with Mannion over Sloter.

Former Minnesota Vikings QB Kyle Sloter knows he played better than Sean Mannion in 2019

Currently, Sloter is the starting quarterback for the USFL’s New Orleans Breakers, and so far this season, he’s been playing well.

After seven games, Sloter leads the USFL in passing yards with 1,499 and in passing attempts with 237. He’s hoping that his performance during these last few weeks will lead to him getting another shot in the NFL.

Recently, Sloter spoke to the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson and the young signal-caller was asked about the quarterback battle that he and Mannion had in 2019. Although he wasn’t pleased with the outcome, he understood why Minnesota made the decision that they did.

"“Sean Mannion was [two] years my senior and I was just a young guy, so that’s a big gap in knowledge. Although I think my play was superior, I think they saw in Sean the ability to help Kirk in the classroom and that was valued more.”"

Since that battle, Mannion has been the top backup behind Cousins for the last three seasons. However, it sounds like the Vikings’ new coaching staff is going to give Kellen Mond a fair shot at taking over the No. 2 spot on the team’s quarterback depth chart this summer.

As for Sloter, he and the Breakers have three games left to play on their regular-season schedule, and then they could potentially play two additional contests if they qualify for this year’s USFL playoffs.