EAGAN, Minn. — Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell announced Wednesday that Nick Mullens will start for Minnesota in the Week 18 regular-season finale at Detroit Sunday.
The Vikings (7-9) are returning to Mullens a week after starting rookie Jaren Hall against Green Bay.
Mullens relieved Hall, who was making his second career start, to open the second half with Minnesota trailing by 20 points in an eventual 33-10 loss that reduced the Vikings chances at earning the final NFC Wild Card spot.
Detroit (11-5) has already clinched the NFC North (established 2002) for the first time in franchise history and is currently the No. 3 seed. The Lions could still move up to No. 2 with a win and losses later Sunday by the Cowboys and Eagles.
View photos of the Vikings 53-man roster as of Jan. 7, 2024.

3 WR Jordan Addison


78 T Hakeem Adeniji

78 T Hakeem Adeniji

33 LB Brian Asamoah II

33 LB Brian Asamoah II

54 LB Anthony Barr

54 LB Anthony Barr

5 CB Mekhi Blackmon


23 CB Andrew Booth Jr.

23 CB Andrew Booth Jr.

56 C Garrett Bradbury

56 C Garrett Bradbury

64 T Blake Brandel

64 T Blake Brandel

90 DL Jonathan Bullard

90 DL Jonathan Bullard

24 S Camryn Bynum

24 S Camryn Bynum

55 OLB Andre Carter II

55 OLB Andre Carter II

32 RB Ty Chandler

32 RB Ty Chandler

6 S Lewis Cine

6 S Lewis Cine

71 T Christian Darrisaw

71 T Christian Darrisaw

52 DL Sheldon Day

52 DL Sheldon Day

42 LS Andrew DePaola

42 LS Andrew DePaola

15 QB Joshua Dobbs

15 QB Joshua Dobbs

21 CB Akayleb Evans

21 CB Akayleb Evans

16 QB Jaren Hall

16 QB Jaren Hall

30 FB C.J. Ham

30 FB C.J. Ham

58 LB Jordan Hicks

58 LB Jordan Hicks

99 OLB Danielle Hunter

99 OLB Danielle Hunter

67 G Ed Ingram

67 G Ed Ingram

81 WR Lucky Jackson

81 WR Lucky Jackson

25 S Theo Jackson

25 S Theo Jackson

18 Justin Jefferson

18 Justin Jefferson

91 OLB Pat Jones II

91 OLB Pat Jones II

1 K Greg Joseph

1 K Greg Joseph

2 RB Alexander Mattison

2 RB Alexander Mattison

44 S Josh Metellus

44 S Josh Metellus

12 QB Nick Mullens

12 QB Nick Mullens

86 TE Johnny Mundt

86 TE Johnny Mundt

7 CB Byron Murphy Jr.

7 CB Byron Murphy Jr.

34 TE Nick Muse

34 TE Nick Muse

26 RB Kene Nwangwu

26 RB Kene Nwangwu

75 T Brian O'Neill

75 T Brian O'Neill

84 TE Josh Oliver

84 TE Josh Oliver

17 WR K.J. Osborn

17 WR K.J. Osborn

40 LB Ivan Pace Jr.

40 LB Ivan Pace Jr.

97 DL Harrison Phillips

97 DL Harrison Phillips

4 WR Brandon Powell

4 WR Brandon Powell

76 T David Quessenberry

76 T David Quessenberry

62 G/C Chris Reed

62 G/C Chris Reed

G Dalton Risner

66 G Dalton Risner

93 DL Jaquelin Roy

93 DL Jaquelin Roy

65 G/C Austin Schlottmann

65 G/C Austin Schlottmann

22 S Harrison Smith

22 S Harrison Smith

50 DL T.J. Smith

50 DL T.J. Smith

11 CB NaJee Thompson

11 CB Najee Thompson

95 DL Khyiris Tonga

95 DL Khyiris Tonga

59 LB Nick Vigil

59 LB Nick Vigil

20 S Jay Ward


14 P Ryan Wright

14 P Ryan Wright
Mullens will be starting for the third time this season and appearing in his fifth game. He opened Minnesota's Week 16 home game against Detroit, as well as the week before at Cincinnati.
The Vikings logged a plethora of explosive plays against Detroit, with Mullens throwing for 411 yards on 22 completions, but also suffered four interceptions. Mullens tried to rally a comeback, but his deep pass to Justin Jefferson on first-and-10 from the 30-yard line was intercepted at the 5 with 49 seconds remaining.
For the season, Mullens has completed 70 of 104 passes (67.3 percent) for 910 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions. His passer rating is 86.6.
Kickoff is at noon (CT).
Minnesota needs the following to happen to make the playoffs:
Win at Detroit
and
Arizona win against Seattle (3:25 p.m. CT)
and
Chicago win at Green Bay (3:25 p.m. CT)
and
Atlanta win at New Orleans (noon CT) OR Carolina win against Tampa Bay (noon CT)