Suddenly, One Viking Is a Lock to Stay with the Franchise
Rarely has any news item been more devastating and depressing than Kevin O’Connell’s announcement that first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy would require knee surgery just days after his first preseason contest.
A torn meniscus jeopardizes his rookie season depending on the kind of surgery the medical personnel ultimately opts to perform.
Suddenly, One Viking Is a Lock to Stay with the Franchise
A simple meniscus trim would give him a recovery timeline of at least a month, while a complete meniscus repair would be closer to 4-6 months. The experts must now weigh the severity of the tear and consider potential long-term concerns.
Regardless, the Michigan passer will not be ready to go when the Vikings travel to meet the New York Giants on September 8. It’s Sam Darnold’s team for the foreseeable future. He will be backed up by veteran Nick Mullens, who has knowledge of the playbook and showed last year that he can keep the offense afloat, although turnovers continue to be an issue for him. The offense scored 24, 24, and 20 points in his three starts.
Those two guys surely had made the roster without McCarthy’s injury. The third guy, however, is in a different spot now. Sophomore Jaren Hall was the odd man out just days ago; now, he’s suddenly a potential QB3 for the 2024 Vikings.
Just a year ago, Hall was taking his first reps in the preseason, and it didn’t go very well. But it didn’t matter as he was supposed to be a redshirt rookie, learning behind starter Kirk Cousins and backup Mullens.
For the first time in his career, Cousins got hurt in Week 8 while Mullens was on IR. Bada bing, Hall was the starting quarterback in Week 9. A promising drive ended with a trip to the locker room with a concussion, initiating Dobbs-mania.
Later in the season, after Dobbs collapsed and Mullens continued to turn the ball over, Hall started in a crucial Week 17 contest against the Packers. It was a disaster. He looked spooked in the pocket and didn’t appear ready for NFL football.
However, it should be noted that he was never supposed to be ready for the bright lights in his rookie season, just months after the team spent a fifth-rounder on the BYU rookie.
His first preseason game in 2024 was a mixed bag. He played the fourth quarter with and against players who won’t see a regular season field in their lives. A shaky start was followed by a solid drive that brought the offense into field goal range and, therefore, put the team in a position to claim the victory by giving sixth-rounder Will Reichard a chance to hit the game-winner.
Darnold and Mullens have their spots secured as QB1 and QB2. With McCarthy out of the equation, the Vikings likely want to keep a third passer as the emergency option.
The NFL has changed the rule since last year. This time, the designated emergency QB that is only allowed to enter the game when the two other signal-callers are hurt, can be a practice squad call-up and doesn’t have to be on the 53-man roster.
Still, the Vikings might want to keep him on the team to avoid the risk of losing him to another team.
Regardless of the details, Hall’s looming departure as the odd man out has been put on hault. The 26-year-old should be expected to be a Viking come Week 1.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt