The Vikings Whiffed
The Vikings are rolling into 2025 with a single quarterback under contract: Mr. J.J. McCarthy, the 21-year-old rookie who is recovering from his torn meniscus and subsequent surgery.
Of course, that reality could change at any point. Sam Darnold is an unlikely extension candidate, but either of Nick Mullens or Brett Rypien could be brought back. Mullens, in particular, seems like a nice fit as someone who competes like crazy and who is well respected by the coaching staff.
Hovering behind this discussion, though, is the absence of Jaren Hall.
A 5th-Round selection from the 2023 NFL Draft, Hall originally made the Vikings’ 53-man roster. He was going to function as the QB3 as he continued refining his craft. One could envision a scenario where he then took over as the QB2 long term, especially since he was still under contract for 2025 and 2026. Instead, Hall got subtracted so that Rypien could be added into the mix.
Did Minnesota make a mistake?
The Vikings Whiffed on the Jaren Hall Decision
Before going too far, a quick word to rein things in.
By no means was Jaren Hall looking like the second coming of Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, or Patrick Mahomes. Undersized and with some limited arm strength, Hall is far from the perfect quarterback. He’s a bit too small and is already 26. No one will accuse him of having the world’s strongest arm.
He does, however, have a brain in his head and a strong work ethic. He has some good athleticism and can throw with good touch. From what I can gather, Hall has good leadership and has the capacity to develop into a strong backup.
Sounds like someone worth holding onto.
To be sure, Minnesota was hoping to keep their draft pick in town. Adofo-Mensah spoke about Hall, clarifying that Minnesota’s intent was 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.”
In the end, Mr. Hall chose Seattle over continued employment in Minnesota. And that’s even after Kevin O’Connell expressed optimism in continuing to work with Hall.
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 strong backup. Shouldn’t the Vikings have made it a priority to keep him? Hard not to think that the Vikings whiffed when they proceeded under the hope/assumption that he could be re-added but as a practice squad player.
Jaren Hall completed 65% of his passes as a rookie for 168 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT. He was going to carry a cap charge sitting at less than $1 million into the season.
Minnesota and Seattle are scheduled to play each other in Week 16.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
The J.J. McCarthy Rumor Is … Bittersweet
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, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.
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