Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyle Sloter has signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, earning another chance in the NFL.
A Minnesota Vikings fan favorite is back in the NFL. After spending the offseason in the USFL, former Vikings quarterback Kyle Sloter has signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Sloter spent the 2017 and 2018 campaigns with the Vikings and he made a brief return last season in the Twin Cities when Sean Mannion was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
To make room for Sloter, the Jaguars released undrafted free agent quarterback EJ Perry, leaving their quarterback room at four with C.J. Beathard, Jake Luton, and Trevor Lawrence all in Jacksonville.
Sloter will look to compete with Beathard and Luton for the backup quarterback position as Lawrence heads into his sophomore season as Jacksonville’s starter.
The 28-year-old never saw the field in the regular season in Minnesota during his multiple stints with the team, and after his departure from the Vikings, he spent the majority of his time on the practice squads of multiple teams around the league.
Chance with Jacksonville Jaguars could be different for Kyle Sloter from his time with the Vikings
The former Northern Colorado Bear seemingly experienced the result of being in an overcrowded quarterback room during his tenure with Minnesota.
In 2017, the Vikings rallied behind Sam Bradford and Case Keenum while waiting on Teddy Bridgewater‘s injury to paint a picture of their future at the quarterback position, all while Sloter had to wait.
After the 2017 season, Minnesota elected to let Bradford, Bridgewater, and Keenum walk in favor of Kirk Cousins, and they traded for Sloter’s teammate with the Denver Broncos, Trevor Siemian, to be the No. 2 quarterback.
Given the pocket-passing style of play that complemented Cousins, Siemian served as a more traditional backup contrasted to the mobile ability of Sloter. A style of play the Vikings never truly explored in a backup signal-caller until Kellen Mond was drafted last year.
With Jacksonville, Beathard enters training camp hurt and Sloter will only have Luton to compete with for the spot behind their franchise quarterback. Additionally, with the Jaguars playing in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game this year, they’ll get one extra look at Sloter compared to the standard three preseason games.
After spending time in the USFL, Sloter has achieved the goal every player in that league had hoped for when competing: another NFL chance. With a heavy list of practice squad appearances, it may be one of the last chances he gets. But it’s one worth his while.