ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Kyle Sloter, who started just nine games at quarterback in college but became a preseason sensation when he led the NFL with a 125.4 passer rating, said Sunday he’s signed with the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad.
Sloter tweeted his thanks to Denver Broncos fans who found in him this summer a cult hero on the fringes of the QB competition between Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch.
The Broncos had hoped Sloter would remain in Denver, but Lynch’s shoulder injury last week threw a wrench into their plans at quarterback and opened the way for Sloter’s move to Minnesota.
With Lynch expected to miss at least a month, the Broncos needed a more experienced backup on their 53-man roster. They signed their former backup Brock Osweiler after he was cut by Cleveland.
“Kyle Sloter did a hell of a job in the preseason and had a hell of a camp,” Broncos general manager John Elway said Saturday. “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.’ We didn’t want to put him in that situation.
“Having been through that before and not having much success doing it very well myself my rookie year, we told Kyle that we’re going to release him and then we brought Brock in.”
That said, Elway was open to bringing Sloter back on Denver’s practice squad.
Sloter, who started out as a receiver at Southern Mississippi before transferring to Northern Colorado and starting at quarterback last year, completed 31 of 43 passes for 413 yards, three TDs and no interceptions in the preseason.
He had a hard time when facing Denver’s No. 1 defense last week at practice, however.
“There were times here and there where coach wanted them to back off a little bit so we could see the ball going to the receivers’ hands, but they weren’t having it,” Sloter said. “It’s good to go against a defense like that. It’s the best one in the NFL, so it doesn’t hurt to go against a defense like that in practice.”
He could have faced Denver’s defense a lot more as a member of the Broncos’ practice squad, but Sloter said the Vikings’ offer was “too much to pass up.”
KUSA-TV in Denver reported Sloter will earn $20,000 a week from the Vikings, almost three times the usual $7,200 weekly pay for practice squad players.
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