Getty Former Minnesota Vikings QB Kyle Sloter.
Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyle Sloter‘s stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars was short-lived.
After signing with Jacksonville in July before training camp, Sloter was released by the Jaguars on August 9. Sloter, 28, played in the NFL Hall of Fame game on August 4. He completed 13 of 25 for 127 yards and a touchdown. However, his performance was not enough to keep him rostered in Jacksonville.
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The Jaguars re-signed E.J. Perry, the quarterback they originally cut to sign Sloter, with the available roster spot. Perry joins C.J. Beathard and Jake Luton below starter Trevor Lawrence on the depth chart.
Meanwhile, Sloter moves on from the seventh NFL team he’s either signed with or worked out for, while the Vikings have considered bringing in another quarterback to training camp.
Vikings Searching for QB?
Amid struggles in the backup quarterback battle at Vikings training camp, Minnesota brought in veteran Kevin Hogan for a workout on August 4. Hogan has not been signed, but his workout was a sign that the VIkings are considering bringing in more competition for Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond.
Mannion showed he’s unable to lead an offense in a regular-season game after dinking and dunking across Lambeau Field last year in a 37-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 17. Despite Mannion’s shortcomings as a player, he’s considered a player-coach and confidant to Kirk Cousins, which is likely enough to keep him within the organization.
Mond, on the other hand, has shown difficulty running through his progressions in training camp. He has the physical gifts, but after Mike Zimmer openly said he didn’t give Mond any consideration for starting in Week 17 against the Packers when Cousins was out on the COVID-19 protocol list, Mond may not have taken a large enough step in his second offseason so far.
That could open a door for Sloter, who was coming off an impressive showing in the USFL. Sloter completed 168 of 291 passes for 1,798 yards and nine touchdowns in nine games for the USFL’s New Orleans Breakers.
In 2017, Sloter was a prized undrafted prospect coming out of Northern Colorado. He signed with the Denver Broncos and completed 31 of 43 preseason passes for 413 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 125.4 — the highest of any rookie quarterback.
Sloter was a final cutdown-day casualty, but the Broncos had hoped to re-sign him to the practice squad if he cleared waivers. Instead, the Vikings outbid eight different teams to sign him. Sloter was with the Vikings the next two training camps before stints with the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders. He was re-signed by Minnesota approaching the Week 17 matchup against the Packers as well.
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Sloter Calls Out Why Vikings Kept Mannion Over Him
Sloter’s preseason performances in Minnesota have built his reputation with Vikings fans over the years.
He shined in the 2019 preseason, posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Arizona Cardinals in August 2019. He completed a gaudy 76% of his passes for four TDs and one interception in 2019, compiling a 120.0 passer rating and not getting sacked.
Sloter’s not making the final 53-man roster was a shock to fans. However, Sloter said he believed Mannion was a better classroom presence for Cousins.
“I think my first season [with the Vikings in 2017], they were grooming me for something,” Sloter told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “Sam Bradford, Case Keenum and Teddy Bridgewater were on expiring contracts. But when Kirk came [on a three-year, $84 million deal in 2018], who was a big pickup for them, I think that changed things. When you commit that much money to a guy, it was about supporting Kirk.
“Sean Mannion was [two] years my senior, and I was just a young guy [in 2019], so that’s a big gap in knowledge. Although I think my play was superior [to Mannion’s], I think that they saw in Sean the ability to help Kirk in the classroom, and that was valued more.”
Sloter returns to a place all-too-familiar in his career, however, he remains adamant on making a roster in the NFL.
“I think I’m a prototypical quarterback,” Sloter told Tomasson in June. “I know teams are looking for first-round quarterbacks in the draft, and I’ve been sitting there. I feel like what they’re looking for, they’re describing me. I’m 6-foot-5, 220 pounds with a good arm. I can move, and have a good head on my shoulders. So I feel like I’ve got everything it takes.”