One Vikings QB Is on Borrowed Time
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings followed their internal plan last Thursday night, refusing to mortgage the future with a trade featuring 2025 or 2026 1st-Round draft capital and instead drafting the University of Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.
One Vikings QB Is on Borrowed Time
Many believed Minnesota would trade up to the third overall pick with the New England Patriots for Drake Maye, but the price was evidently too steep. McCarthy jumped into the Vikings’ lap at pick No. 10 after Minnesota traded with the New York Jets to box out the Denver Broncos, a team that later selected quarterback Bo Nix.
Now, though, Minnesota has a full quarterback room, meaning one of these two men will be the odd man out.
Nick Mullens
A gunslinging veteran, Mullens started three games for the 2023 Vikings — and Minnesota lost all three. His insertion into the starting lineup inconveniently and directly aligned with the death of Brian Flores’ 2023 defense. The moment Mullens took the baton versus the Cincinnati Bengals last December, Flores’ defense stopped playing well. It was rather odd.
Three months after that game, Minnesota signed veteran free-agent signal-caller Sam Darnold, which pumped the brakes on Mullens’ 2024 status with the team. In theory, Mullens could’ve been showcased as the patchover quarterback to an eventual rookie — that turned out to be McCarthy — but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah chose Darnold instead.
If the Vikings adore the next guy on the list, Mullens could be the odd man out via trade or summer roster cut.
Mullens can fling the ball over the field and then some, so he’ll assuredly end up somewhere as a QB2 or QB3.
Jaren Hall
However, if Mullens stays, Hall is out — or at least relegated to the practice squad. And on that squad, he’d be at risk for pilfer, as any team could steal Hall if it were willing to add him to the active roster.
Hall started two games in 2023 as a rookie. He was quickly concussed in his first start, a Week 9 showdown against the Atlanta Falcons, which led to Joshua Dobbs and his brief Cinderella story. The following month, Hall was called upon to start in a pivotal game against the Green Bay Packers on New Year’s Eve, an event that turned out disastrous for everyone except the Packers — Hall included.
So, in 2024, Hall enters Year No. 2, and it is unclear if he’ll be a part of the Vikings’ quarterback room. McCarthy, Darnold, and Mullens are a somewhat reputable threesome, a hint that Hall could land on the practice squad or experience an outright release.
Hall turned 26 in March and is five years older than McCarthy, if that can be believed.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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