The Minnesota Vikings‘ quarterback room has transformed drastically since the start of the offseason, and the changes may not be through just yet.
Free agency began with Kirk Cousins out and Sam Darnold in, followed by an NFL draft in which the Vikings selected QB J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy damaged his meniscus earlier this month, after which he underwent season-ending surgery.
But instead of pursuing another veteran to compete with backup Nick Mullens and/or the starting job with Darnold, Minnesota instead signed Matt Corral — a former third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2022 who has never taken a regular-season snap.
One movable piece in the Vikings’ QB room is Jaren Hall, the 2023 fifth-round selection who started two games last season (1-1) and has an unknown ceiling. Some analysts, like Matthew Coller of Purple Insider, believe Hall is a cut candidate as the unofficial 53-man roster comes due at the end of the month. The team’s thinking behind that move might be that it could scoop Hall back up for the practice squad after a cut.
“It doesn’t seem likely that another team would pick him up if he’s cut,” Coller predicted on August 20.
However, another option — and a better one for the Vikings, if they can pull it off — is to shop Hall to QB-needy franchises before the month is out. He likely wouldn’t garner anything behind a late-round pick or Day 3 pick swap on his own, but he could also be part of a return for a low-risk, high-reward deal on someone like Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hall has three years remaining on his $4 million rookie contract and could prove an interesting candidate in a fight for a second- or third-string job for some team with a shallow QB room.
Jaren Hall Could Be Part of QB Reshuffling Around NFL, Potentially as Russell Wilson Replacement in Pittsburgh
Wilson to Minnesota is a notion that has picked up some steam of late, with ESPN analyst and former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum pitching the idea on a recent edition of “Get Up.”
“A win-win here is to trade Russell Wilson to Minnesota,” Tannenbaum said on August 21. “I think he’s a better quarterback than Sam Darnold. They certainly can battle it out.”
Tannenbaum’s assumption is that the Steelers might sign free agent Ryan Tannehill considering his former relationship with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith from their time together with the Tennessee Titans. Tannebaum is also assuming that former Chicago Bears starter Justin Fields will ultimately beat out Wilson with the Steelers, rendering the latter a more valuable trade asset than backup option.
Pittsburgh would almost certainly be looking for a draft pick as the centerpiece in the return on any Wilson trade, but a team like the Vikings might be able to bring that price down by a round or two by sending Hall along with a pick in exchange for Wilson.
Jaren Hall Retains Value Heading Into Second Season, Either for Vikings or Elsewhere
Hall played well against the Cleveland Browns in the Vikings’ second preseason game of the month on August 17, throwing for 87 yards and 2 TDs on 4-of-5 passing.
However, he did struggle when he got his shots to start for Minnesota last season, completing just 13-of-20 passes for 168 yards and 1 INT in two starts. There are caveats, however.
Hall suffered a concussion at the end of the first quarter of his initial start, which came against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9, and he was performing decently well before that. Hall didn’t get another chance until Week 17 in a must-win game against the Green Bay Packers, in which he started slowly and was pulled early in favor of Mullens.
At just 26 years old, Hall still has potential and will likely get another shot somewhere in the league at some point, at least to win a backup job — either in Minnesota or elsewhere. He probably carries more value to the Vikings currently than any other franchise given the draft pick they spent on him just one year ago.
That argues for Hall sticking in Minnesota, either as a third-string QB with a roster spot or on the practice squad as an insurance policy if the team can’t trade him.
“The Vikings staff values his maturity and drive. For more than a year now, he typically has been the last player out on the field after practice working with assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski,” Alec Lewis of The Athletic wrote of Hall on August 21. “The decision comes down to this: Do the Vikings value a third-string QB option steeped in the system more than they value a back-end roster option with upside at another premium position?”
