Report: Vikings Taking “A Long Look” at Starting Jaren Hall in Week 17
Brett Peterson
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The Minnesota Vikings may be looking at another quarterback change in week 17 vs the Green Bay Packers.
The Vikings have started Nick Mullens the passed two weeks and the results have been less than ideal. Mullens has thrown six interceptions, three in which have come in the red zone. The turnovers Mullens has accrued have been back breaking for the team, as each of the last two games have been very winnable contests.
It’s been the theme all season long, but the turnover battle has been reason the Vikings have fallen out of the playoff race for the time being. According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, the Vikings are taking a “long look” at whether to start Hall over Mullens on New Year’s Eve vs the Packers.
Jaren Hall is an inexperienced NFL quarterback but looked comfortable in his short time vs the Atlanta Falcons before his concussion that knocked him out for the rest of the game. Hall completed five of six passes for 78 yards in the game and looked like he had command of Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
The 2023 fifth-round draft pick was a very productive quarterback at BYU, and he passed for 31 touchdowns to only six interceptions in his final collegiate season.
Three Reasons Why the Vikings Should Start Jaren Hall
There’s a few reason why Kevin O’Connell should start the rookie quarterback and I will pinpoint a few of these reasons. Minnesota is still in the thick of the playoff race and if they win their final two games, they will more than likely make the postseason.
Reason #1: Minnesota Needs a Spark
Coming into week 17, the team in purple is currently on a two game losing streak in their most important stretch of the season. Nick Mullens has been a turnover machine, and has proven he can not be trusted during the season’s biggest moments. If Hall gets thrown into the mix, the veterans on this team will rally around him and do everything they can to get a win for their rookie quarterback. There’s trust between the players and Hall and that was shown earlier in the year prior to his start vs Atlanta.
Reason #2: Nick Mullens is Brett Favre, and Not in a Good Way
Nick Mullens likes to take risks, and we’ve seen that more than anyone these previous two weeks. He’s very much a gunslinger and it’s gotten him in trouble vs both Cincinnati and Detroit. Mullens is down right reckless with the football, and Hall is known to be very good at avoiding turnovers. It may be as simple as playing the “safer” quarterback to win these final two games.
Reason #3: Time to Find Out if Hall Has “It”
The Vikings are in need of a young franchise quarterback. It is more than likely not Jaren Hall as he was a fifth round draft pick in 2022 and the odds are not in his favor. But Hall has a good arm, good accuracy, and is very poised for a quarterback in his first year. It doesn’t’ hurt to see if the former BYU quarterback has a future as a starting quarterback.
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