After Nick Mullens struggled mightily in a pair of starts the past couple of weeks, the Minnesota Vikings will be turning to rookie quarterback Jaren Hall this Sunday, and Mullens understands the team’s reasoning.
“I totally understand,” Mullens said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “To me it’s pretty cut and dry. If I turn the ball over, I’m probably not going to be in the game. I feel like I let the team down and that sucks. You can’t turn the ball over and expect to be a successful QB. It sucks because I felt like we have a great group, and to see guys go through so much during the season, and you get in and you really feel like you let your team down. That weighs on you a good bit.”
Mullens threw a combined six interceptions in his two starts, most recently coughing up four picks in a loss to the Detroit Lions last week.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said “we have to maintain possession of the football” when he announced the quarterback change, referencing Mullens’ penchant for throwing interceptions.
What makes Mullens’ turnover parade over these last couple of weeks even worse is that Minnesota lost both games by a combined nine points. The Vikings fell to the Las Vegas Raiders by a score of 3-0 in Week 15 before losing 30-24 to the Lions.
Nick Mullens, who played his collegiate football at Southern Mississippi, went undrafted but landed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2018. He made eight starts for them that season, finishing with 2,277 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 picks.
He spent three seasons with the 49ers overall and once again started eight games for them in 2020, posting 2,437 yards, 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The 28-year-old then made his way to the Cleveland Browns for one year before joining the Vikings in 2022.
Minnesota’s playoff hopes are on life support at 7-8. It will take on the Green Bay Packers this Sunday before closing out the regular season by battling Detroit again on Jan. 7.
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