Vikings trade for a QB, which is bad news for Kellen Mond

The Minnesota Vikings have traded for quarterback Nick Mullens, previously of the Las Vegas Raiders. This isn’t great news for current backup Kellen Mond.

Mond was selected with the 67th-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, which at the time was seen as a warning sign for longtime Minnesota starter Kirk Cousins.

Things haven’t worked out as planned for the Texas A&M product, as despite having the physical tools to be a dual threat at the position, he hasn’t quite put it all together at the professional level.

Thankfully for the Vikings, Cousins has improved since April of 2021, so they don’t necessarily need a backup plan. But just in case, Kevin O’Connell doesn’t seem all that confident in handing Mond the reigns.

Minnesota acquired Nick Mullens from the Raiders for draft compensation. From the looks of it, Mullens was far from a lock to make the Vegas roster, anyway.

What does Vikings trade mean for Kellen Mond?

Minnesota’s backup quarterback competition between Mond and Sean Mannion hasn’t gone as planned. Neither player provided much of an answer in the team’s second preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers.

“Ultimately, you would love to have come out of tonight feeling like, ‘Shoot, they both moved the team and scored a lot of points, and we’ve got a heck of a hard discussion and conversation ahead,'” O’Connell said, per the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “Because as we’ve talked about, in my mind, the clock is going. Although I feel like our starters are in a good spot for Sept. 11, and that’s where our emphasis is really on, there’s a lot of jobs we’ve got to still allow to play themselves out.”

Bringing in a fresh face could be the answer the Vikings need.

Mullens does have decent starting experience. He was forced into action twice with the 49ers, and has started 17 games in his four-year NFL career. In that time, he has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 26;22, and an overall rating of 87.3.