The Vikings’ QB Logjam and The Cruel Irony that’s Now Playing Out
At present, the Vikings’ QB logjam is creating a bit of an issue, at least in one sense.
A two-horse race a week ago, there are now four players passing the football on the practice fields at TCO Performance Center. J.J. McCarthy, of course, is the top option. Behind him are Sam Howell, Brett Rypien, and Max Brosmer. The result of having these four quarterbacks in town is that Minnesota doesn’t seem to have room for Jaren Hall, recently waived by Seattle.
The Vikings’ QB Logjam & The Sudden Jaren Hall News
The original plan was to keep Mr. Hall in town. Or, at least, that was the desire from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell.
The issue with cutting a player is simply that doing so gave Hall the autonomy to go elsewhere. Maintaining control over his future in Minnesota meant not waiving him. Deciding to clear out room for Rypien by moving on from Hall opened the possibility to what Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell said they didn’t want to come to fruition: losing the passer whom they chose in the 5th of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Adam Schefter offered the news of the cut earlier in the week: “Seahawks waived quarterback Jaren Hall, linebacker Michael Dowell, center Michael Novitsky and outside linebacker Kenneth Odumegwu.”
The irony is that Minnesota made a move to bring a Seahawks passer to town in Mr. Howell. Even more ironic is that part of what made things tough for Jaren Hall is that Sam Darnold, after a breakout season with the Vikings, claimed the QB1 job in Seattle.
Push things just a little bit further.
For a couple months, the Vikings seemed desperate for quarterback depth. J.J. McCarthy was being supported by Brett Rypien and then … no one else. A lot of Vikings fans (and maybe coaches/executives) would have felt better about having a young QB3 still in town functioning on a rookie contract.
Consider what Janik Eckardt had to say about the Jaren Hall situation: “In the few days after cutting Hall, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell both stated their intention to re-sign Hall to the practice squad. He ultimately dipped. If they still want him, now is their chance. However, Minnesota’s QB room is likely full, too. McCarthy is the QB1, Howell was acquired to be his backup, Rypien remains QB3, and Max Brosmer was signed as an UDFA, and he wasn’t cheap.”
Jaren Hall, already 27, stands at 6’0″ and weighs 207 pounds. He doesn’t have the world’s strongest arm, but he can throw with touch and has some athleticism.
He didn’t play for Seattle last season, but was involved in three games with the Vikings as a rookie. The end result was a 65% completion rate alongside 168 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Notably, he helped to preserve the win against Green Bay in Week 8 before getting a shot to start against Atlanta in Week 9, a game where he needed to leave due to injury. The Week 17 Packers game went about as poor as possible, resulting in him being benched at halftime.
The Vikings, quite possibly, could have had interest in a Jaren Hall reunion had the passer become available sooner (a situation discussed on PurplePTSD). The reality is that he may have become available too late since carrying five passers is quite rare.
Hopefully, Mr. Hall finds a spot where he can settle into a competition, working himself into a QB2/QB3 job as he keeps improving his game.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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 Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
