In Week 17 of the 2021 season, the Minnesota Vikings will start QB Sean Mannion in place of Kirk Cousins, who is on the COVID list. With Mannion set to make the third start of his career and his first since 2019, let’s take a look at the career of the Vikings’ backup QB.
Who is Sean Mannion, and what has happened in his NFL career?
The then-St. Louis Rams selected Mannion 89th overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, he appeared in one game, completing 6 of 7 passes for 31 yards. After the team moved to Los Angeles in 2016, the story was similar — one game, 6 pass attempts, 3 completions, 19 yards, but 1 interception.
Mannion would make his first start in Week 17 of the 2017 season. With Sean McVay resting his starters, Mannion took to the field with a limited supporting cast. Unsurprisingly, he struggled, completing 20 of 34 passing attempts with 169 yards. Overall, Mannion appeared in five games in his third season but only threw 3 passes in the other four appearances.
Career in 2019 and beyond
Mannion would have to wait until 2019 to start another game. Once again, it came in Week 17, but this time with the Vikings resting their starters. Unsurprisingly, he struggled. Mannion completed 12 of 21 passes for 126 yards and 2 picks.
Mannion would re-sign with the Vikings for 2020 but did not play in any games. He headed to Seattle during the 2021 offseason. However, following his release, the Vikings added him to their practice squad before promoting him to the active roster on September 21.
So far in his professional career, Mannon is 45-of-74 for 384 yards with zero touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Those numbers are unconvincing, but he has made both of his starts without a starting offense around him.
Where did Mannion play college football?
Mannion played four years at Oregon State. He redshirted his first year with the team before starting 10 of 12 games the following year. Mannion struggled with 18 interceptions compared to 16 touchdowns. Yet, he remained as the starter into 2012 but again was disappointing. He threw 15 touchdowns to 13 interceptions but missed three games during the season.
Things started to come together for Mannion in his redshirt junior year. He played in 13 games, completing 66.3% of his passes for 4,662 yards with 37 TDs to 15 INTs. As a senior, he played 12 games, throwing 15 scores to 8 picks. Mannion finished his college career with 13,600 passing yards, becoming the Pac-12’s all-time leader in passing yards.