Injury suffered by Vikings QB Jaren Hall offers unique roster construction opportunity

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Jaren Hall had himself an excellent game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday afternoon. He threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns, helping lead the Vikings to a 26-3 victory to cap off an undefeated preseason.

During the game, Hall ended up getting hit with a cheap shot on his final drive. Despite head coach Kevin O'Connell wanting to play Hall deeper into the third quarter, that hit ended his day prematurely.

“Yeah, he probably would have stayed in there, on that hit – the hit that seemed a little high up in the head and neck area. I have to go watch it, but it was actually just a little bit of a leg contusion. We just wanted to make sure – at that point, he had had a really good day. Let’s go ahead and put [Vikings QB Matt] Matty [Corral] in there and let him finish it. But yeah, the thought was to try to get three quarters for Jaren, but we made the decision to take him out.”

Jaren Hall's injury creates unique opportunity

The key phrase that O'Connell used when talking about taking Hall out of the game was "leg contusion." That means Hall is technically injured and you can't waive a player who hasn't passed a physical without using an injury designation.

This could make things easier in crafting the initial 53-man roster. The Vikings have some flexibility with injured reserve. A new rule this year allows teams to place two players on injured reserve with a designated to return distinction on cutdown day. In past years, they had to be on the roster after the initial waivers ran the day after at 11 a.m. CT.

The Vikings will likely be using one of those spots on T.J. Hockenson, but he could also stay on the physically unable to perform list due to his recovery from a torn ACL. They could use one of the spots on Hall with the leg contusion, especially since he seemingly was on the roster bubble before.

That would allow the Vikings to keep a different player on the 53-man roster that had earned the spot and Hall could return in four weeks. The Vikings could sign Corral or someone else to the practice squad and not have to subject Hall to waivers.

After all is said and done, the Vikings just may keep Hall on the active roster anyway, but it's a path they could take if they so choose.

Related: Minnesota Vikings final 53-man roster prediction: Who gets to keep their playbook?

Related: Minnesota Vikings Roster Cuts Tracker 2024: Keeping tabs on all of the moves to get to 53