The addition of J.J. McCarthy puts the Vikings in a position they may not want to be in but can’t avoid. They can’t keep four quarterbacks. At the very least, they can’t keep four on the active roster.
Because of that, Alec Lewis of The Athletic predicts the team will release one of them.
Obviously, it will not be J.J. McCarthy or Sam Darnold, as they have just been drafted and signed, respectively. That leaves the game of Survivor to be played between Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall.
Hall was drafted out of BYU in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Hall started two times for the Vikings and was less than impressive in those spots. He turned the ball over three times and threw no touchdowns in those starts. The second start came in week 17 against the Packers, where he was benched at halftime and saw no action in week 18 to end the year.
Because of those less than ideal numbers, Hall is who Lewis predicts the Vikings will let go of.
The Vikings staff wants to be patient with J.J. McCarthy’s development, so having two veterans in place seems to be their ideal situation. Lewis writes, “. .. the team’s willingness to turn to Mullens if Darnold struggles or suffers an injury. Team leaders hope neither happens, but they have to plan for the worst-case scenario.”
Hall could easily be placed on the practice squad, allowing him to develop more under Kevin O’Connell and his staff ideally. The active roster just may not be the place for him at this moment with the current state of the Vikings roster.
