On Saturday, when the Vikings face the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota will have their fourth starting quarterback of the 2023 NFL season. Former Spain Park High School standout Nick Mullens will start for the Vikings, according to Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, after sparking the Vikings to a victory on Sunday.
“I do believe Nick Mullens gives us the best chance to win the football game this Saturday,” O’Connell said in a statement, “and that’s the decision we made.”
Mullens took over for starter Joshua Dobbs with 9:10 remaining in Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Mullens had a 26-yard pass on his first snap of the season, but Minnesota punted on that possession. Mullens led the Vikings on a 56-yard, 13-play drive that concluded with Greg Joseph’s 36-yard field goal on the first play after the two-minute warning.
On the series, Mullens completed three third-down throws, including a 20-yarder to wide receiver Jordan Addison at the Las Vegas 22-yard line. The Vikings then kicked a field goal to secure a 3-0 victory over Las Vegas.
Against the Raiders, Mullens completed 9-of-13 throws for 83 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
“Thought he came into the game the other day and demonstrated his ability to prepare and be ready to come in, play in rhythm,” he remarked. “Was precise with the ball and made sound decisions.” And I think where we are as an offensive right now is about execution with all 11 guys, and Nick’s comfort in our system, a lot of time on task logged in our offense, will be a bonus for us to continue to hunt improvement from last week and go try to be as efficient as we possibly can.
“It’s been lovely seeing him. He is now fully recovered. We were able to assist him in working through his low-back problem. He is in a very good mood. He is eager to depart, which was a major factor in his decision.”
Mullens would have likely started Minnesota’s last five games if he hadn’t been placed on injured reserve on Oct. 11. While Mullens was out, starting quarterback Kirk Cousins was sidelined for the season on Oct. 29 due to an Achilles tendon injury.
Jarren Hall, a fifth-round rookie, took over for Cousins. Hall left his first start after 15 snaps to be evaluated for a concussion. Minnesota was left with Josh Dobbs at quarterback. Dobbs had started eight games for Arizona this season, but with Kyler Murray on the mend, the Cardinals dealt Dobbs to the Vikings on Oct. 31.
Dobbs completed 20-of-30 throws for 158 yards with two touchdowns – one with 22 seconds remaining – and no interceptions in a 31-28 victory over Atlanta despite not getting a single rep in practice.
Dobbs completed 23-of-34 throws for 268 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions and ran for 44 yards and one touchdown on eight attempts after a week of practice in a 27-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 12.
However, Minnesota fell to the Denver Broncos 21-20 and the Chicago Bears 12-10 in its following two games, and Dobbs was replaced by Mullens on Sunday. Dobbs has completed 52-of-87 throws for 469 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions since the Vikings’ most recent victory.
Mullens was activated off injured reserve the day before the Denver game, and O’Connell claimed Mullens appeared healthy again on Sunday.
“Seeing Nick get a little more work last week, and then obviously go out there and execute our offense in rhythm at a really high level, and the understanding, kind of running the show, the feel of what our offense felt like with him in there in some of those big-time throws on third down, putting his back foot in the ground and giving our guys a chance to make a play,” O’Connell said.
Mullens will make his 18th start in the NFL since his debut in 2017, and his first since Dec. 20, 2021.
Mullens won the Gatorade Alabama Football Player of the Year Award in 2012 at Spain Park in Hoover, where he threw for 3,649 yards and 40 touchdowns.
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Mullens set records at Southern Miss for career, single-season, and single-game passing yards, as well as career, single-season, and single-game touchdown passes. Mullens was named Conference USA’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2015.
Mullens spent 2017 on the practice squad of the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted rookie. Mullens started 16 games while Jimmy Garoppolo was injured over the next three seasons.
Garoppolo started the 2018 season for the 49ers, however he sustained a season-ending injury in the third game. When Garoppolo’s successor, C.J. Beathard, became hurt, San Francisco put Mullens in the lineup and he played the rest of the season.
Mullens completed 176-of-274 passes for 2,277 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in his NFL debut against the Raiders on Nov. 1, 2018, becoming the third player in NFL history with at least 250 passing yards and three touchdown passes without an interception. After starting 1-7 in the first eight games of 2018, San Francisco went 3-5 with Mullens at quarterback.
Garoppolo started every game for San Francisco in 2019, as the team won the NFC championship and competed in Super Bowl LIV. Mullens played seven snaps in 2019 and did not throw a pass.
Mullens started eight games in lieu of Garoppolo in 2020. Mullens completed 211-of-326 throws for 2,437 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 12 picks.
Mullens’ 2020 season was cut short by an elbow injury suffered in San Francisco’s 14th game. Mullens was not re-signed by the 49ers, and he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in the summer.
Mullens was signed by the Cleveland Browns on September 1, 2021, after being released by the Eagles. Mullens started his only game of 2021, a 16-14 loss to Las Vegas, with Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum on reserve/COVID-19. He completed 20-of-30 throws for 147 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.
Mullens joined the Raiders as a free agent on April 4, 2022, and was traded to Minnesota on August 22, 2022.
Mullens signed a two-year contract extension with the Vikings on March 15 to avoid free agency after tossing 25 passes for the team in 2022.
In 25 games, including 17 starts, Mullens has completed 437-of-668 passes for 5,168 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions. Only eight quarterbacks in NFL history have accumulated more passing yards after 17 starts than Mullens.
“There’s a reason we went out and got Nick when we did to really solidify that position,” O’Connell told reporters. “When you’re looking for a quarterback who you believe can win you some football games with one snap, you look for certain characteristics.” Nick possesses them all. Everything about his preparation is fantastic. He allows us to plan ahead of time and doesn’t require a large number of reps to execute that plan.”
The Vikings and Bengals square off at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati at 12:00 CST on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on NFL Network.
With four weeks remaining in the regular season, Minnesota is 7-6 and in a playoff position in the NFC. The Bengals have a 7-6 record as well, but that mark does not have them in the AFC playoff field this week.
