The Minnesota Vikings only have one quarterback on their roster who has thrown a pass in the NFL: Kirk Cousins.
Sure, Kellen Mond was just drafted in the third round this past year and the fanbase is excited about him, but we won’t know anything about what he can actually bring to the table until he takes the field. Nathan Stanley and Jake Browning haven’t seen any playing time since signing with the Vikings.
Experience is important. What if Cousins goes down? We have no idea what to expect from Mond, much less from Stanley and Browning. In a year when Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer’s jobs are on the line, it would be prudent to have an experienced backup on the roster.
Robert Griffin III is a free agent after serving three years as the Baltimore Ravens’ backup. He has been in and out of the league after battling career-altering ACL and LCL injuries in Washington. He was out of the league in 2015, made five starts for the Cleveland Browns in 2016, and then signed with Baltimore in 2018 to back up Lamar Jackson.
So why is RG3 a fit with the Vikings? For starters, he is one of the few veteran quarterbacks still available. But more importantly, having RG3 could be a great way for Kellen Mond to learn from a quarterback with a similar playing style.
Mond is not as well known for his running ability as Griffin, but he’s a mobile quarterback. Having a player who has been in the league since 2012 polish Mond’s running skills while Cousins serves as a model passer would provide Mond the best of both worlds.
Griffin’s recent play hasn’t exactly wowed any of us. He has struggled in games where he has gotten a chance to play recently. But like I said before, RG3’s role with the Vikings could be more as a locker room guy.
Make no mistake, RG3’s teammates have loved him. He embraced a leadership role in his time with the Ravens. It’s something the Vikings could use. You can never have enough leaders.
Not only could RG3 serve as a backup, he could also serve as a wildcat or situational quarterback. We saw the Ravens occasionally utilize him as a receiver and a running back.
He became the focus of the offsense whenever the Ravens used RG3 in this way, and defenses would often be perplexed. The Vikings can use RG3 as a contrast to Cousins in order to make scouting their offense more difficult. How would you react if you saw RG3 come in motion across the formation?
RG3 is a great change of pace from Cousins. Even having him in for select plays, much the same way that the Eagles utilized Jalen Hurts for the first few weeks of last season, could help open up running lanes and opportunities for trick plays.
Not to mention, RG3 isn’t aiming for a big contract. He would likely be signed for near the league minimum. Getting a player of this experience level for that cheap is an opportunity the Vikings can’t pass up. Not to mention, RG3 has a much higher ceiling than any other quarterback available at the moment. Sure, we are almost a decade into his career, but as I said before, we see flashes of the old RG3 at times. It’s very possible that those flashes become more consistent in the right situation.
The Vikings are building a mansion with the team they have now. However, that mansion is built on an unstable foundation. If that foundation falls, the rest doesn’t. RG3 is the insurance policy that can keep the Vikings afloat if Cousins goes down, or if Mond isn’t what we think he can be.
