The Vikings cleared out the depth chart at quarterback behind Kirk Cousins, dumping both Kellen Mond and Sean Mannion. (They kept relative newcomer Nick Mullens, a trade acquisition from the Raiders.) Mannion opted to join the Seattle practice squad in lieu of staying in Minnesota.
“There was a couple different options,” Mannion told reporters on Thursday. “That was potentially one of them, but I had such a positive experience here obviously last year and the opportunity presented itself. It was a unique opportunity to come back to a system that I’m very familiar with, and coaches that I feel like I work really well with. I get to work with Geno [Smith] and Drew [Lock]. I get to be close to home, be close to family and stuff like that, so it was a unique opportunity. I loved my time in Minnesota. It’s hard moving on, but three years there and loved all my teammates, loved all my coaches. It was a super positive experience for me, but I’m excited to be here.”
Mannion, 30, spent two years in Minnesota (2019-20) before joining the Seahawks a year ago. Seattle cut him on September 1, 2021, and then he joined Minnesota’s practice squad before getting elevated to the active roster. He started in Week 17, after Cousins tested positive for COVID.
Mannion said that he has a home in the Portland area, making his new location a lot closer to his family than Minnesota.
He’s no closer to playing. With Smith and Lock ahead of him on the depth chart, Mannion will be an emergency option, at best. That’s still better than not being an option at all.