Vikings QB Sam Darnold underwent an MRI on his knee that revealed no structural damage, according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer. "He’s sore, but they are optimistic he plays against Green Bay" on Sunday, Glazer adds.
Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell announced Wednesday that QB Nick Mullens will start this weekend's finale vs. the Lions. "To me, Nick has been very effective moving the team," O'Connell said. "We've been very explosive as an offense when he's been in there. Nick knows the one area that we must focus on is possession of the football, not giving the football away." Mullens has tossed six INTs over the past four games but otherwise completed 67% of his passes at 8.8 yards per attempt with five TDs. He threw for 411 yards, two TDs, and four INTs against the Lions a couple of weeks ago and is at least an intriguing DFS tournament play this week.
The Vikings have announced that QB Jaren Hall will start over Nick Mullens this Sunday night against the Packers. That comes after Mullens tossed 4 INTs in a 6-point Week 16 loss to Detroit. HC Kevin O'Connell originally had Hall as the backup to Kirk Cousins and started the fifth-round rookie in the first game after Cousins' season-ending injury. But O'Connell then stuck with QB Joshua Dobbs even after Hall returned from his concussion, and then rolled out Mullens after Dobbs' 4-INT turn against Chicago. This week's move says O'Connell believes Hall to be a better option than Mullens. But the rookie clearly remains unproven. He has thrown just 10 regular-season passes. The preseason found him completing just 54.2% of his passes at 5.5 yards per attempt. Hall does bring above-average speed for the position and topped 300 rushing yards in each of his final two seasons at BYU. But starting a QB in what would be his first full NFL game would obviously be very risky. The bigger question is what the switch does to WR outlooks. We'd still start Justin Jefferson comfortably. K.J. Osborn, meanwhile, is tougher to like inside WR3 territory. (He already landed as a WR4 in our Week 17 rankings.)
Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell announced Monday that QB Nick Mullens will start Sunday's game against the Lions. That's not a surprise after Mullens threw for 303 yards and 2 TDs in the Week 15 OT loss at Cincinnati. He also tossed 2 INTs but ranked among the top one-third of QBs for the week in expected points added per play. Mullens will carry some upside against a Detroit D that has struggled at times against the pass, but don't expect him to land among our top 12 fantasy QBs for Week 16.
Per Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Vikings will be making a change at the QB position in Week 15. Joshua Dobbs is being sent to the bench after four starts and will be replaced by backup Nick Mullens. This news doesn't come as much of a surprise, considering Dobbs' recent struggles and the fact that he was yanked in the fourth quarter of Sunday's contest vs. the Raiders. From a fantasy perspective, Mullens doesn't bring the same rushing ability to the table as Dobbs did and shouldn't be considered a lineup option outside of deep 2QB/superflex leagues. Check out where he appears in our current QB rankings.
Vikings QB Joshua Dobbs was benched early in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Raiders. He completed just 10 of 23 passes for 63 scoreless yards -- definitely a benchable offense. QB Nick Mullens is in for Dobbs. We'll see how he fares and who Minnesota rolls with going forward.
Vikings OC Wes Phillips said Tuesday that HC Kevin O'Connell will announce the starting QB Wednesday. Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says, "Based on everything I've heard this week, I expect the Vikings to start Josh Dobbs against the Raiders." That's how we have it projected in the Week 14 QB rankings, but we'll obviously be watching for any change. Dobbs has showed plenty of fantasy upside and will get a fine matchup if he stays in the lineup. There figures to be some risk he gets pulled, though, if he struggles anywhere near how he did against the Bears before the bye.
Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said after Monday night's loss to the Bears that he'll consider making a QB change over the bye week. QB Josh Dobbs was horrible in the loss, throwing for just 185 yards with one TD and four INTs. "We're going to take a look, you know really evaluate the inventory of plays now we have of Josh," O'Connell said. "As much as the turnovers absolutely cripple you, offensively, I still thought Josh battled, no flinch, and just kept playing and competing to try to help us win. I really credit him doing that, it's hard to do on a night where you've turned the football over." Dobbs, of course, played well in his first three games with Minnesota, completing 66% of his passes with four TDs and one INT. Considering that -- and the fact that the Vikings' other QB options are Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall -- we're expecting Dobbs to at least start Week 14's meeting with the Raiders. But we'll keep you updated on O'Connell's decision.
A Monday MRI confirmed that Vikings QB Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles in the Week 8 win over the Packers, NFL Network reports. Cousins will miss the rest of the 2023 season. His contract is set to void in March, and Cousins will turn 36 in August, leaving his football future very uncertain. The Vikings, meanwhile, are left with QBs Jaren Hall and Sean Mannion for now. QB Nick Mullens, who at least has 655 NFL pass attempts under his belt, is eligible to come off IR next week. We'll see if Minnesota makes a move for a free-agent QB or swings a trade before tomorrow's trade deadline. Regardless, Cousins' absence is bad news for all of the team's skill-position players.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins threw for just 205 yards in Sunday's loss to the Packers, with 1 TD and 3 INTs. The lone TD went to WR Jalen Nailor from 47 yards out, helping him lead the team with 89 yards on 3 catches. TE T.J. Hockenson led the team with 12 targets, catching 7 for 59 yards. WR K.J. Osborn added a TD catch, but it came from QB Nick Mullens in garbage time. WR Justin Jefferson managed just 1 reception for 15 yards among 5 looks. Minnesota closes out the regular season with an upside matchup at Chicago.
Browns QB Baker Mayfield, QB Case Keenum, WR Jarvis Landry and TE Austin Hooper will not be activated from the COVID list for tonight's game vs. the Raiders, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. So QB Nick Mullens will get the start for Cleveland. His top 2 WRs figure to be Donovan Peoples-Jones and Rashard Higgins. David Njoku should top the TE depth chart. We'll see if TE Harrison Bryant (ankle) is able to play. Expect a run-heavy game plan featuring Nick Chubb from the Browns.
Browns QB Case Keenum has joined QB Baker Mayfield on the COVID list. That leaves QB Nick Mullens to start Saturday's game vs. the Raiders. Mullens has been on the practice squad since September 1, so he at least has some familiarity with the offense. Mullens made 8 starts for the 49ers between 2018 and 2020 and owns a career 64.5% completion rate, 7.9 yards-per-attempt average and 25 TDs vs. 22 INTs. He's probably not a significant downgrade from Keenum. We're still expecting a run-heavy attack from Cleveland on Saturday.
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