Vikings will start Hall at QB for final preseason game vs. Eagles, sign ex-Gophers RB Ibrahim

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings will start Jaren Hall at quarterback for their final preseason game, with J.J. McCarthy on the mend and Sam Darnold solidified as the starter for the regular season.

Coach Kevin O’Connell said Thursday that Hall will likely be relieved at some point Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles by recent acquisition Matt Corral.

Nick Mullens, the eighth-year veteran who started three games for the Vikings last season, is set as the primary backup to Darnold and doesn’t need more preseason game action. Hall is in his second year after being drafted in the fifth round in 2023 out of BYU and making two starts for the Vikings after the season-ending injury to Kirk Cousins.

McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the draft earlier this year, had season-ending surgery last week on a torn meniscus in his right knee.

With five days to go before the roster must be cut down to the 53-player regular-season limit, the Vikings signed former Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim. He spent the majority of the 2023 season on the practice squad with the Detroit Lions after leaving the Gophers in 2022 as the program’s all-time leading rusher with 4,668 yards in 41 games.