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It would appear that the Minnesota Vikings are in the market for a backup quarterback. Their primary backup from last year, Trevor Siemian, is currently a free agent and is reportedly set to meet with the New York Jets in the next couple of days. The direction that they’re reportedly looking in. . .at least from this writer’s perspective. . .doesn’t exactly inspire a ton of confidence.
NFL Media also reports that the #Vikings, if they can't re-sign Siemian, have interest in Sean Mannion, last year's backup with the Rams. https://t.co/Py1vuDbcZd
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 20, 2019
According to Chris Tomasson, the Vikings are interested in possibly acquiring the services of quarterback Sean Mannion, who has seen very limited duty over four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. With the Rams’ recent signing of Blake Bortles to back up Jared Goff, his services are no longer needed on the west coast.
Mannion was the Rams’ third-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. . .the same class as Siemian (who went in Round 7). . .from Oregon State. When I say that he has limited experience, it’s not an exaggeration. In his four seasons with the Rams, Mannion has thrown just 53 passes, with no touchdowns and one interception to his credit.
He does have one start on his resume, as he got the start in the Rams’ meaningless 2017 finale against the San Francisco 49ers. His performance was, well, not great, Bob. He completed 20-of-34 passes for 169 yards, no scores, and lost one fumble as the Rams got waxed to the tune of 34-13.
Rumors like this one sort of underscore the thinking that, for whatever reason, the Vikings just aren’t quite ready to turn the backup slot over to Kyle Sloter at this point, despite the fact that they did quite a bit to acquire him in 2017 and have kept him holding a clipboard over the past two seasons. Guys like Siemian and Mannion are “veterans,” and I get that. But, seriously, if you want to compare the two Siemian has at least done something at the NFL level, even if he did look atrocious last preseason.
As I said in the open, this isn’t a move that inspires a heck of a lot of confidence. We’ll have to see if the Vikings’ reported interest in Mannion amounts to anything of if it’s just another rumor.