Raiders News: Las Vegas Trades Nick Mullens To Vikings
Nick Mullens, Raiders
Aug 20, 2022; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Nick Mullens (9) throws a pass against the Miami Dolphins in the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

With training camp and preseason now in full swing, many teams are truly evaluating their rosters to see where they need to fill some holes. As such, there are many trades that go down during this time with teams realizing which players are expendable and the Las Vegas Raiders decided to move on from a backup quarterback.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Raiders have traded quarterback Nick Mullens to the Minnesota Vikings for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft:

Mullens has been in a competition with Jarrett Stidham for the backup quarterback spot behind starter Derek Carr. He is most notable for his time with the San Francisco 49ers, where he started 16 games over a three-year period, and while he record was not great, he proved himself as an adequate player, totaling 4,714 yards with 25 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

So far in the preseason, Mullens has been solid, completing 72.4% of his passes in three games and having the team’s lone passing touchdown while not throwing an interception. This made him the ideal candidate for the Vikings, who obviously haven’t been impressed with their own options behind their starter Kirk Cousins.

Veteran Sean Mannion and second-year QB Kellen Mond have failed to impress, leading the Vikings to feel the need to bring in another outside option and Mullens gets the opportunity to unseat both of them. For the Raiders, this now leaves Stidham as the clear backup behind Carr, with undrafted Chase Garbers out of Cal the third-string.

Perhaps it was Garber’s potential that made it easier to move on from Mullens for the Raiders, as the QB played the entire second half of their most recent preseason contest against the Miami Dolphins. Garbers completed 6-of-9 passes for 54 yards while also adding another 44 yards on the ground, including an explosive 28-yard run.