The Vikings’ QB2 Reunion with a Passer Who Could Shake Loose from an NFC Rival
Originally, the plan was the keep Jaren Hall employed in Minnesota.
Go back and check out a bit of what Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had to say when the decision was made to pickup Brett Rypien while waiving Mr. Hall. The GM confirmed his interest in bringing the passer back to “pour into him” while the HC wanted to continue the “process” with the passer. Will Hall shake loose from Seattle’s roster, opening the possibility of returning to compete for the Vikings’ QB2 position?
The Vikings’ QB2 Solution:
Keep an Eye on Jaren Hall in Seattle
Currently, Seattle is stuffed to the gills with passers, sitting in a different position than Minnesota.
Most prominently, there’s Sam Darnold leading things. He was Minnesota’s top passer in 2024 before venturing west in free agency for the allure of a three-year deal coming in at more than $100 million and the chance to be the top passer for several years.
Working behind Mr. Darnold is Drew Lock (someone who looked like a good option for Minnesota), Sam Howell, and Hall. Those three passers will compete for what is presumably just a pair of roster openings on the final roster. Very seldom do teams keep more than three quarterbacks, though a fourth can commonly be found on a practice squad.
In fact, the Vikings tried to pursue that precise path last year with the Rypien move. Bring the more experienced Rypien onto the 53-man roster while sliding Hall down to the practice squad.
The issue, of course, is that Hall wasn’t compelled to sign a practice squad contract. Moving on from the young quarterback meant giving him the freedom to choose his next destination. In the end, the Seahawks were more appealing, leaving the Vikings with Darnold, Nick Mullens, and Rypien as the top trio (with J.J. McCarthy hanging out on the IR for the season due to his knee injury).
Last preseason, Jaren Hall did some good stuff for the Vikings’ offense, moving the ball down the field and putting up points. Physically, he isn’t the world’s most imposing passer — no one will mistake him for Tim Tebow or Cam Newton — and nor does he have the strongest arm, but he can put nice touch on the ball.
Partner that ability with being a good worker, leader, and having some athleticism. One could certainly do worse from a backup.
Easy to forget, perhaps, but Hall was involved in a trio of games during the 2023 season. In Week 8, Hall stepped in after Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles. He finished the outing having gone 3/4 for 23 yards, taking a sack and losing a fumble. Most importantly, Jaren Hall helped to preserve the win.
A week later, Hall got the nod to be the team’s QB1, starting for Minnesota in a road game in Atlanta. An injury knocked him out of the game, thus beginning the wildness that was Josh Dobbs’ insertion into the starting lineup. Hall was 5/6 for 78 yards.
Finally, there was the Week 17 meltdown against the Packers (the game where Cousins, shirt off, sounded the horn).
His opening half involved going 5/10 for 67 yards and an interception. The game looked too fast for him, but keep in mind that he was a rookie 5th-Round selection appearing in a must-win game against the team’s most hated rival in prime time. Was the rookie set up to fail?
By using the No. 164 pick from the 2023 NFL Draft on Jaren Hall, the Minnesota Vikings signalled their intent to develop him into being a backup passer. Shoring up depth was the aim.
That plan got disrupted last year when they moved on from the BYU alumnus, but there’s a realistic chance that sticking around with the Seahawks isn’t in the cards, especially if Seattle snags a passer at some point in the upcoming draft.
A QB room consisting of McCarthy, Rypien, and Hall wouldn’t come without some risk, but the upside would be a decent bit higher than it is currently.
Jaren Hall, who stands at 6’0″ and weighs 207 pounds, is 27. He didn’t play at all for Seattle in 2024.
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 social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.