Vikings Claim Former LSU QB Danny Etling Off of Waivers

Etling has spent time with the Patriots, Falcons, and Seahawks in his NFL career.

The Vikings have claimed quarterback Danny Etling off of waivers, per multiple reports. Etling gives them another QB to join Jake Browning and recent addition Case Cookus for at least the next few practices while 75 percent of their original QB room is on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Kirk Cousins, Kellen Mond, and Nate Stanley are all out until at least Thursday after Mond tested positive for COVID and Cousins and Stanley were labeled high-risk close contacts. None of the three has been vaccinated. The Vikings went from one quarterback on Saturday (Browning) to two on Monday (Browning and Cookus) and will now have three on Tuesday with Etling joining the roster.

Cookus is fully vaccinated, and there's no doubt Etling is as well. Mike Zimmer admitted on Monday that vaccination status would factor into the equation when they look at bringing in free agents going forward.

Etling, 27, began his college career at Purdue and finished it at LSU. He was the Tigers' starter in 2016 and 2017, throwing for nearly 4,600 yards with a 27 to 7 TD/INT ratio during those two seasons.

After graduating, Etling was drafted in the seventh round by the Patriots in 2018. A good athlete at the position, he famously broke off an 86-yard touchdown run in the preseason as a rookie.

Etling was on the practice squad for the Patriots' Super Bowl-winning team. He transitioned to wide receiver the following year to try to increase his odds of making the team, but the experiment was unsuccessful. Etling spent the 2019 season with the Falcons, moving back to quarterback but never seeing any regular season snaps. He spent last year on the Seahawks' practice squad before being waived to make room for former Vikings backup Sean Mannion this past weekend.

Now Etling is in Minnesota, and he'll have at least a couple days to make an impression on the coaching staff.

So in just a couple days, the Vikings' top three quarterbacks have gone from Kirk Cousins, Jake Browning, and Kellen Mond to Jake Browning, Case Cookus, and Danny Etling.

Yeesh.

Zimmer said he doesn't know when any of the QBs on the COVID list will be able to return, so we'll see how long this mess lasts.

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