ESPN’s Kevin Seifert has created a firestorm in Minnesota Vikings land after saying in multiple interviews that neither Kellen Mond nor Sean Mannion may wind up being the backup quarterback to Kirk Cousins.
His words went viral during a reported radio interview on Thursday, but he said it first on the Purple Insider podcast with Matthew Coller on Aug. 5.
“There’s gonna be guys out there as cuts happen. It wouldn’t be the first time a team started a season with a backup quarterback, including this team, that didn’t go through training camp with them. I don’t think they want to do that for obvious reasons,” Seifert told Coller.
“I also think that the GM and the coach have the total freedom to basically dump them both if they need to,” Seifert added. “They could have looked at it as a due diligence situation behind a durable starter: ‘We did it, it didn’t work out. We’ll bring in the next couple of guys.’ I’m sure they have a list of people they would consider in that regard as well.”
Seifert echoed his words Wednesday as a guest of Dan Barreiro on KFAN.
“My understanding is that internally they’re very open to the possibility that the backup quarterback isn’t on the roster,” Seifert said. “There’s two factors there. 1) How do these guys perform and, 2) who’s potentially available, either via trade or gets cut and you pick them up in the final cuts right by Labor Day. I certainly wouldn’t rule that possibility out.”
Shocked? Well, when Mond struggled as a rookie and Jake Browning and Nate Stanley didn’t cut it during the 2021 training camp and preseason, the Vikings signed Sean Mannion after he was cut by the Seahawks on Sept. 1.
“It was never a sure thing that either Mond or Mannion would win the job,” Coller told Bring Me The Sports. “The Vikings have to keep all of their options open and see if either player takes the reins in the next few weeks. If not it could be the same situation as last year where they bring in another QB that somebody else released.”
Obviously, the Vikings aren’t cutting Mond or Mannion anytime too soon. They will need both for Sunday’s preseason opener in Las Vegas against the Raiders – especially since Cousins’ status is uncertain after he went home sick on Thursday.
Related: Kevin O’Connell is kicking the Vikings’ hornet’s nest of fate
Related: Kirk Cousins pressed about his relationship with Mike Zimmer
