Former NFL quarterback Kyle Sloter had two stints with the Minnesota Vikings. Apparently, they might’ve brought him back for a second go-around because he was good at being not that good.
Sloter offered a peek behind the curtain of being a backup QB in the NFL when speaking on The Victory Degree podcast.
“I was told, when I was at the Vikings at one point, that I needed to do less,” Sloter said. “That I needed to go out there and be worse in the preseason because it was creating an atmosphere that was not what they wanted. They don’t want competition between a backup quarterback and a starter. They don’t want any controversy. They don’t want those things. Especially when you have a lot of guaranteed money on a guy that is going to play, no matter what.”
He also added, “I have had people tell me that in order to make it as a backup in the league, you have to play like a backup, and it just was never me. It was never me to not go out there and compete.”
Kyle Sloter Was A Preseason MVP For The Vikings
Remember when I said that the Vikings liked Sloter because he was good at being not that good? That was tongue-in-cheek (and low-hanging fruit). He looked like Tom Brady in August.
His impressive preseason performances started in Denver after he signed there as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He completed 31 of 43 attempts for 413 yards, with a 3-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Sloter then picked up right where he left off after joining the Vikings. Across eight preseason performances in 2018 and 2019, he completed 80 of 107 attempts for 807 yards and boasted a 9-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
He looked promising enough for former Fox Sports analyst to theorize whether he could be named the backup over Sean Mannion, who was previously drafted in the third round and saw some regular-season action before the 2019 season.
“I like him a lot in what he does, but unless you see him working against first-string guys, it’s hard to evaluate,” Davis said. “But he’s out there performing. I think he plays with a lot of confidence. I think he wants to compete for the job of being the No. 2 guy. I think he wants a fair shot at it.” (per Chris Tomasson of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press)
Nevertheless, the Vikings wound up cutting ties with Sloter, who was later signed to the Cardinals practice squad. From there, he bounced around practice squads and had another very short (three-day) stint with Minnesota late in the 2021 season after backup QB Sean Mannion landed on the COVID-19 list.
Was the Vikings Coaching Staff protecting Kirk Cousins?
If Sloter’s comments are true, then he was undoubtedly talking about Kirk Cousins. The Vikings broke the bank on Cousins in the 2018 offseason, and it’s fair to question whether he didn’t like being shown up by a former undrafted guy in the preseason.
Interestingly, when Cousins was set to hit free agency following the 2023 campaign, Minnesota’s coaching staff told Cousins about their intentions to draft a QB in the 2024 NFL Draft. There was a short-term offer on the table for him to return to the Vikings, but he instead opted to join the Falcons (who promptly took the exact same approach by drafting Michael Penix Jr.).
It’s also interesting to see him playing a similar role as a bridge quarterback for first-overall selection Fernando Mendoza. To his credit, he seems to have matured at this stage of his career, though. Cousins has taken the young QB under his wing. Nevertheless, he seemingly wasn’t willing to do the same for Sloter.
Former Vikings QB Makes A Shocking Accusation About Coaching Philosophy