Reports: Jaren Hall, Tyler Huntley both released in post-cutdown day transactions

When Tuesday’s NFL cutdown day deadline passed, former BYU quarterback Jaren Hall and former Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley each had jobs in the NFL.

Now, they are both reportedly looking for a new team.

The Minnesota Vikings confirmed Thursday morning that they are waiving Hall and replacing him with quarterback Brett Rypien, who was cut earlier this week by the Chicago Bears. The news was first reported by The Athletic’s Alec Lewis.

The Cleveland Browns, meanwhile, are releasing Huntley after being unable to find a trade partner, according to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot . Instead, the Browns, who went through cutdown day with four quarterbacks on their roster, will bring back running back D’Onta Foreman to fill Huntley’s spot on the 53-man roster, according to Cabot.

Why was Jaren Hall waived?

Hall, the former BYU and Maple Mountain High standout, was a fifth-round selection by the Vikings last year and started two games as a rookie, though he didn’t finish either game.

One year after Minnesota dealt with losing starter Kirk Cousins to injury, the Vikings chose former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the first round of this year’s draft. McCarthy, though, is out for the season with a torn meniscus suffered during training camp.

That put the Vikings in an interesting predicament, with Cousins now in Atlanta and their presumptive long-term starter on the sideline.

Hall was behind NFL veteran Sam Darnold, a new addition to the Vikings, and Nick Mullens on the depth chart, leaving him as the third option as quarterback.

Rypien, a sixth-year veteran who’s started four games in his career as a journeyman quarterback, provides a more “short-term” solution, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said, per ESPN.

“That move was really indicative of knowing what we went through last year,” O’Connell said, according to ESPN .

Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said Minnesota will try to re-sign Hall to its practice squad — if he clears waivers — but didn’t like having Hall being “one snap away, or one snap from one snap away” from playing again during the regular season, a point of concern at this point in his development.

Hall was coming off his best game as a Viking. He completed 17 of 25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Vikings to a 26-3 win over Philadelphia in the team’s preseason finale last Saturday.

Why was Tyler Huntley released?

Huntley was in competition with Dorian Thompson-Robinson for the Browns’ QB3 spot, behind starter Deshaun Watson and veteran backup Jameis Winston.

The former University of Utah quarterback, who spent the past four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, was originally retained by the Browns on the team’s initial 53-man active roster, as Cleveland kept four quarterbacks on their roster following Tuesday’s cutdown deadline.

The Athletic’s Zac Jackson and Dianna Russini, who first reported the news , said Cleveland explored trade options involving all three backups — Winston, Huntley and Thompson-Robinson — but could not strike a suitable deal.

The Browns had a greater need at running back, as they had only two healthy running backs on the roster — Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. — after Tuesday’s cutdown deadline.

Foreman’s re-addition to the Cleveland roster, just days after he was waived, will help alleviate that issue.

Huntley is coming off his best performance in his short stint with Cleveland, who he joined as an free agent this offseason. Last Saturday, he competed 17 of 22 passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns in one half of play during a 37-33 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Huntley was more efficient than the second-year Thompson-Robinson during the preseason.

He completed 37 of 51 passes for 322 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, while adding 46 rushing yards on eight carries.

Thompson-Robinson, meanwhile, completed 38 of 55 passes for 375 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while adding one carry for 2 yards.

He was a fifth-round pick of the Browns last season and started three games for Cleveland last year before a season-ending hip injury.