The Minnesota Vikings competed their preseason schedule on Saturday afternoon vs the Philadelphia Eagles, in blowout 23-3 fashion. The win put a pretty little bow on the best Vikings preseason in recent memory, from an exhibition win/loss standpoint.
Jaren Hall has another big day vs Philadelphia Eagles
But it was 3rd string QB Jaren Hall who stole the show. That was especially true in the first half, where he absolutely lit up the Eagles defense for 128 yards and two touchdowns, on 13 of 16 passing. He finished the day 17-of-25 for 189 yards and those two first half TDs.
He looked calm, cool and collected, which is exactly how you’d hope a young, talented QB would, vs 3rd and 4th stringers. And that’s why it was so good to see. In his sophomore season, anything less would mean he probably isn’t worth keeping. He left a bit earlier than expected, due to a hard hit, but he seemed to be OK after.
After today’s performance, Jaren Hall finishes his preseason 28-of-46 (61%) for 339 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Outside of a poor (but very short) appearance in exhibition game one, the 26-year-old has proven himself as a young QB who is very much worth a spot 53-man roster spot.
No chance Minnesota Vikings can sneak Hall to their practice squad now
Entering the weekend, there was a lot of questions over whether or not Jaren Hall would make the Vikings final roster, which will be presented on Tuesday. Was there any way to sneak him onto the practice squad?
Kevin O’Connell has invested a lot of time and effort into developing Hall. If he wants to get him on the practice squad, he’d have to cut him first. Obviously, that would allow another team to come swipe him from under KOC’s nose.
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And after how he performed today, there is no chance he would make it through waivers. Teams in the NFL are desperate for young quarterbacks who have shown any sign of competency at this level. Not only did Hall play well again today, but he has real NFL experience.
If they want to keep Jaren in Minnesota, it’ll have to be via the 53-man roster. And according to Kevin Seifert (ESPN) , that appears to be the plan.
Remember, Jaren has regular season experience too
Jaren Hall was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 5th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He walked into rookie camp and prepared early on as a depth piece whose only job on game days would be to hold a clipboard and learn behind Kirk Cousins and Nick Mullens.
Hall made the final 53-man roster, and the beginning of his NFL career went as planned. Kirk played, Nick backed him up and Jaren was activated on Sundays as the emergency QB, meaning he didn’t have to count against the 48-man roster.
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But that changed pretty quickly when Nick Mullens was put on injured reserve with a back injury. Suddenly, the Minnesota Vikings were one Kirk Cousins injury away from forcing their 5th round rookie out of BYU into action.
Then, as we all know, that’s exactly what happened. Cousins tore his ACL in week 8 vs Green Bay and it was Jaren Hall who was thrust under center. He played well, too. After going 3-of-4 for 23 yards to finish off the Packers, he went into Atlanta in week 9 and went 5-of-6 for 78 yards.
Unfortunately, Jaren was smashed into concussion protocol by a goalline collision during his second drive vs the Falcons, ending his bid as Minnesota’s QB1 just as quickly as it began. Hall got another chance in week 16. He finished his 2023 rookie season 13-for-20 for 168 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT.
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