CINCINNATI — In an NFL season filled with backups, Nick Mullens is next up at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.
Coach Kevin O'Connell announced Tuesday that Mullens will start Saturday at Cincinnati after relieving an ineffective Joshua Dobbs last week and helping lead the Vikings to a 3-0 victory at Las Vegas.
Mullens is the fourth different starter for the Vikings. They've never used that many in the same season before in franchise history.
Dobbs arrived in an emergency trade with Arizona after Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles tendon. Rookie Jaren Hall got the first start in place of Cousins, but suffered a concussion early in the game against the Falcons, resulting in Dobbs leading the team.
Mullens has 17 career starts in the NFL, including eight each in the 2018 and 2020 seasons with San Francisco as an injury fill-in for Jimmy Garoppolo.
Backup Jake Browning remains the Bengals' starter. He's coming off a win where he completed 18 of 24 passes for 275 yards and finished with three total touchdowns.
Browning went to the locker room with muscle crams in his throwing hand in the fourth quarter, but returned after getting intravenous fluids.
