There are several position battles to be decided in the next two days for the Minnesota Vikings‘ final roster cuts — but the first domino to fall will be what happens with quarterback Jaren Hall.
A 2023 fifth-round pick, Hall is coming off two solid performances to close the preseason but suffered a leg injury that knocked him out of the team’s preseason win over the Philadelphia Eagles on August 24 — just three days before the final roster deadline.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis noted on his podcast that the severity of the injury is unknown and whether it could impact Hall’s chance at making the 53-man roster as the third quarterback behind Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens.
“I’m not totally certain,” Lewis said of the likelihood that Hall makes the final roster. “I thought Jaren the last two weeks of the preseason has looked as good as he’s looked in his time in a Vikings uniform.”
Before exiting the Eagles game, Hall had completed 17 of 25 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He also posted a perfect passer rating, completing 4 of 5 pass attempts for 87 yards, two touchdowns and an interception against the Cleveland Browns on August 17.
Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Addresses Jaren Hall’s Exit From the Eagles Game
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell addressed Hall’s exit during the live broadcast of the Eagles game.
“He’s doing alright,” O’Connell said. “It’s one of those things where obviously big hits sometimes you never quite know. You’re clearly worried about, when you take a direct kind of launch shot to the head and neck area like that, first and foremost, the flag is one thing, but Jaren’s health would be what I ultimately care about. His head is fine, he is fine. He does have a little, you know, just a little leg kind of issue right now, kind of working through it over there. More than likely, we’re probably looking at Matt Corral coming next series.”
Corral, signed on August 16 after J.J. McCarthy underwent a season-ending meniscus surgery, finished the game, completing 4 of 6 pass attempts for 13 yards in a game manager role.
Corrall is behind on the Vikings offense compared to Hall, who has shown significant growth and ease in the pocket compared to his rookie season.
Vikings QB Jaren Hall Helps His Chances, Turns Head Across the NFL
Hall has upped his reputation in the NFL this preseason after two impressive performances to close the evaluation period for the league.
Lewis added on his podcast that he has been asked about Hall by several media members for other teams.
“It’s really just watching his calmness, his comfortability in the pocket… that stood out to me,” Lewis said. “I’ve talked to some people on other teams that have asked about him, which I found to be interesting.”
The Vikings could test their luck and waive Hall with the hopes of re-signing him to the practice squad. It’s rare for a quarterback to be picked up off waivers immediately after cutdown day, and a potential injury could scare off some teams.
However, the Vikings would be wise to not test their luck and roll into the season with Hall even if he could miss a few games recovering from injury.
