The Minnesota Vikings waived third-string quarterback Taylor Heinicke last weekend, but they brought in another young, athletic, developmental quarterback.
His name is Kyle Sloter, a 6-foot-5, 218-pound prospect who slung 29 touchdowns at Northern Colorado.
One year ago at this time, he was considered a wide receiver.
Sloter’s remarkable story began at Southern Mississippi, where he was teammates with Dylan Bradley and Rashod Hill — now his teammates on the Vikings. He redshirted in 2012 under head coach Ellis Johnson and had plans to compete for the starting job the following year, but an 0-12 season led to Johnson’s firing and the arrival of Todd Monken, who had less appreciation for Sloter’s passing prowess.
He was demoted to fourth on the depth chart behind a freshman and a pair of graduate transfers and was faced with a decision.
“It was more just me thinking I’m wasting years if I’m not on the field,” said Sloter, “so I want to find a way to get on the field as soon as possible, and I asked the coaches if I could move to receiver. They kind of laughed at me at first, but that’s the way it goes. I ended up starting some games for them. I started low on the depth chart and worked my way up.”
Sloter played two years as a slot receiver for Southern Miss, then encountered more difficulty with the coaching staff. Before final exams in the spring of 2015, Sloter had his scholarship revoked because the staff wanted to recruit bigger-bodied tight ends and didn’t think Sloter was part of the long-term plan.
“It wasn’t for a specific reason other than they didn’t think I was good enough,” Sloter said.
The theme of being doubted, as well as misled, characterized Sloter’s college career. He transferred to FCS school Northern Colorado in order to stay eligible, but despite being assured a shot at the quarterback job, he was quickly moved to receiver.
Sloter caught six passes for the Bears his junior season, though still attended quarterback meetings as a backup quarterback.
His finally caught his break on Sept. 10, 2016, when starting quarterback Jacob Knipp went down with a shoulder injury. Sloter entered the game against Abilene Christian in the first quarter and proceeded to pass for over 400 yards and six touchdowns. He won Big Sky Player of the Week for his efforts.
That set the wheels in motion for Sloter, whose solid year at quarterback brought him to the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent. His preseason performance turned many heads as he threw for 319 yards on 26-of-37 passing in three games, connecting on two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Broncos general manager John Elway, however, had the final say, and Sloter was waived on cut day. “As I told him today when I talked to him, I said, ‘You don’t know this, but I’m telling you from experience, going from the preseason to the regular season is a big jump,’” Elway told reporters.
“A lot of guys had my back,” said Sloter. “You build a name for yourself with the fans and all that kind of stuff, and it’s tough to leave situations like that where you’re, for lack of a better word, loved by most everybody except the GM.”
Sloter signed a $20,000 per week contract with the Vikings to join their practice squad after leaving Denver.
Not bad for a guy who played receiver his first three years of college ball.
“I feel like I have the advantage because I knew where I was supposed to be at [as a receiver],” said Sloter, “knowing what they like, where they like the ball, where they expect the ball to be thrown, that kind of stuff. It really just gave me a good perspective of things.”
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