Did The Vikings Just Make a Mistake?
Stunningly, the Vikings decided to move on from Jaren Hall on Thursday. They did so to make room for Brett Rypien, thus preserving their three-QB hierarchy.
Alec Lewis of The Athletic had the word: “The #Vikings have signed QB Brett Rypien and have waived QB Jaren Hall.” Ben Goessling fills in a little more of the background connections: “Rypien was in Denver with several members of the Vikings’ offensive staff, including Curtis Modkins and Chris Kuper, and was with the Rams last season, so there’s some familiarity with the Vikings’ coaches and scheme.”
The Vikings Made a Mistake
Start off with what Minnesota is getting in Mr. Rypien.
The man stands at 6’2″ and weighs 202 pounds, a bit undersized for the position. He’s 28 and has been in the NFL since 2019 when the Broncos brought him aboard as an undrafted free agent. Since then, Rypien has also spent time with the Rams, Seahawks, Jets, and Bears.
The journeyman has appeared in ten games in his career, starting four. He has gone an even 2-2 in his opportunities. The more concerning part is that Mr. Rypien has completed 58.3% of his career passes while tossing 4 touchdowns versus 9 interceptions.
Not stellar.
Of course, a lot of the work of a backup rests in preparing the starter. Doing some mental heavy lifting is something that kept Sean Mannion employed for a long time. Perhaps Rypien is super smart and quite gifted when it comes to preparing the starter. At the very least, he has seen more than Hall and been on the field for more snaps.
The added time in the NFL, though, is a two-way street. At this stage, there’s essentially zero chance that Rypien becomes anything other than a QB2/3. Hall, meanwhile, still has room to grow. Couldn’t the BYU alumnus still develop into an upside QB2?
Oftentimes, the best measure of someone’s potential rests in how they bounce back from adversity. Preseason Game #1 was bad, yes, but Hall didn’t allow that poor effort to sink his confidence. Instead, he put together fine days against the Browns and then the Eagles.
Consider the basic numbers:
| Game | Completions | Yards | TDs | INTs |
| Raiders | 7/16 | 63 | 0 | 0 |
| @ Browns | 4/5 | 87 | 2 | 0 |
| @ Eagles | 17/25 | 189 | 2 | 0 |
Make no mistake: Jaren Hall has potential. No, he’s not likely to ever become an NFL starter — he’s already 26 — but the man could end up being a tremendous backup. Shouldn’t the Vikings make it a priority to keep him?
Adofo-Mensah spoke about Hall yesterday, clarifying that Minnesota’s intent is to keep the young passer while continuing to follow through on his development. “Yes, we will try to bring back Jaren,” Adofo-Mensah noted when asked about his sophomore passer. Don’t miss the key word: “try.”
He goes on: “He really improved over the preseason. I use that development word a lot. With quarterbacks, you don’t want to throw these guys in too early. And I think with him, we just want more time to pour into him.” The decision to add “Brett [Rypien] to the room” gives the team “more time to pour into Jaren and work with him, if he so chooses to do that.”
Kevin O’Connell, for whatever it’s worth, thinks that Hall is sticking around:
Unpack Adofo-Mensah’s thoughts a little bit. The GM sees growth in Hall but believes there’s still more that needs to take place. Even as a QB3, Minnesota is a bit skittish about Hall since he’s a single snap away from being the main backup (something Adofo-Mensah elsewhere clarifies in his response).
Rypien offers a bit more assurance of being ready to roll if needed. From there, the Vikings want to retain Hall but as the QB4, a practice squad passer who can continue to soak up wisdom and refine his craft. In that sense, he’s a bit like runner DeWayne McBride, someone not yet ready for in-game touches but who nevertheless is getting his paycheck from the Vikings.
The risk now is twofold. A team could make a waiver claim for Hall, onboarding the passer by attaching him to their 53-man roster. Or, perhaps, Jaren Hall decides he doesn’t want to be on Minnesota’s practice squad, instead deciding he would like to proceed elsewhere.
If either scenario occurs, then Minnesota will have let a young passer get out of their reach for the upside of a veteran QB3 with very limited success at the NFL level.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.