Tag: Jaren Hall

Vikings QB Sam Darnold to sit against Browns, Nick Mullens to start

The Vikings have had an interesting week in regards to their quarterbacks, and we got one more wrinkle in it all before the Browns game.

The Minnesota Vikings have had an interesting week regarding their quarterbacks, and we have one more wrinkle before the Cleveland Browns game. With J.J. McCarthy on injured reserve, the team signed Matt Corral to add some depth to the roster.

Now as we get ready for kickoff against the Browns, we get news of Sam Darnold not playing against them.

Chris Hawkey of Minnesota Vikings Radio reported hours before kickoff that Darnold will not be playing against the Browns. Instead, Nick Mullens, who sat out last week against the Las Vegas Raiders, will get the start. He reports that Matt Corral and Jaren Hall will get some reps as the team works to figure out the quarterback position.

Mullens was a healthy scratch last week, and it is expected that Darnold will be the same this week. It is odd, though, that Darnold isn’t being exposed to the Browns” defense anymore after a tough week of practice.

For now, we get to see our first look at Mullens who did flash some good moments last year filling in for Kirk Cousins.

WATCH: Nick Mullens connects with Trishton Jackson downfield

Quarterback Nick Mullens connected with wide receiver Trishton Jackson on a deep pass in the team’s joint practice with the Cleveland Browns

The Minnesota Vikings were dealt a massive blow on Wednesday with the news that rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy would miss the entirety of his rookie season after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus. This injury leaves Sam Darnold as the undisputed starting quarterback and a lot of uncertainty behind him.

Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall are suddenly battling for the backup quarterback duties, and Mullens appears to be taking full advantage of his new-found position. Where the two were previously fighting for a roster spot, it’s now possible that both make the roster, and 2024 could be another carousel season at the position.

If it is, it looks like Mullens has developed a connection with at least one of his wide receivers: Trishton Jackson. Jackson himself is embroiled in a position battle, his for the third wide receiver spot behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. While Jalen Nailor may have a lead in the battle, Jackson is making sure that the staff doesn’t have an easy decision by making big plays in practice, like the one below.

Vikings’ Sam Darnold labeled a ‘free agency steal’ by NFL analyst

Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report believes the Minnesota Vikings got a steal in free agency with the signing of quarterback Sam Darnold.

The Minnesota Vikings were caught between a rock and a hard place this off-season. It was clear to most people that former starting quarterback Kirk Cousins wouldn’t be back with the team. He was an impending free agent in his mid-30s coming off a serious injury, and looking for a major payday. It just was never in the cards for him to return under the circumstances.

But what were the Vikings going to do at quarterback in his absence? They seemingly hadn’t prepared very well for life after Cousins, and they were left with either the prospect of throwing a rookie quarterback into the fire immediately or signing a re-tread in hopes he could provide a bridge to the young quarterback.

The Vikings opted for the second route and signed former New York Jets first-round pick Sam Darnold. According to Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report, that decision is already one of the biggest steals of the offseason.

Moton recently identified eight players who already look like free agency steals in training camp, and among them is the much-maligned quarterback. Darnold—at least so far in Vikings camp—has been performing well and showing folks that, while he may never live up to the position he was drafted at, he can be a serviceable quarterback in this league.

That’s all the Vikings need. Minnesota just barely missed out on a playoff berth last season, with the trio of Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall, and Joshua Dobbs starting games for them. If Darnold can provide the team with slightly more production — or, at the very least, fewer drive-killing turnovers — the Vikings have a chance to be playoff contenders this season.

Getting that from a quarterback making just $10 million– especially in today’s quarterback market- qualifies as a steal.

Kevin O’Connell announces QB1 entering training camp

Head coach Kevin O’Connell said veteran Sam Darnold held the lead role as training camp approaches.

While it doesn’t come as any surprise, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced Sam Darnold as Minnesota’s top quarterback entering training camp next month.

The Vikings spent the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft on Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, but as of right now, the plan is for McCarthy not to rush into anything so he can learn the offense. Minnesota signed the journeyman Darnold to a one-year deal this offseason, and while McCarthy will more than likely start the season as a backup, O’Connell wants a true competition when training camp starts.

“We haven’t had to put out a depth chart or anything like that,” O’Connell said, “but yeah, I would say Sam would be the guy I would look to based upon the spring he’s had, and really where he’s at in his career and his quarterback journey, and what he’s been able to do coming in and [hitting] the ground running and taking advantage of a competitive situation.”

The Vikings also have quarterbacks Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall on the roster. Both started for the Vikings last season when Kirk Cousins went down. The four quarterbacks will battle for positioning on the depth chart next month.

The Athletic predicts a Vikings quarterback to be cut

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.

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.

Grading the Minnesota Vikings’ 2023 rookie draft class

With their rookie seasons under their belt, let’s revisit the Minnesota Vikings’ 2023 NFL draft and hand out some rookie grades.

The 2023 season for the Minnesota Vikings was the ultimate rollercoaster ride. Not even just week-to-week, but seemingly quarter-by-quarter and even series-to-series. You never knew what you were going to get from this iteration of the Vikings on any given day, and it made for some wild moments.

The season may not have ended the way the team, or the fans, wanted, but that disappointment shouldn’t overshadow the many good things that happened this year, least of all the many great contributions from the team’s rookie class.

There are a number of different ways to build a successful franchise in the NFL, but still the prevailing thought process is that it’s best to utilize the draft to build your base, and to supplement that base through free agency, trades, and the like.

Over the past few years, the Vikings have used the draft well to build up their base, including nabbing arguably the best wide receiver in football just a few short years ago when taking Justin Jefferson.

That success in the NFL draft continued in 2023, with the Vikings getting some major contributions from a number of their selections. Perhaps even more impressive, arguably their best rookie this season came in the form of someone who wasn’t drafted at all – instead being a true diamond-in-the-rough as an undrafted free agent.

With that as our backdrop, let’s revisit the 2023 Minnesota Vikings NFL draft class and hand out some grades now that their first season is officially behind them.

2023 Minnesota Vikings by The Numbers

The 2023 season for the Minnesota Vikings was one that can’t be forgotten.

Since 2017, there have been 65 teams that have had a winning streak of five or more in a single season. Only ten failed to make the playoffs, including three from 2023: The Denver Broncos, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota’s run is a bit more impressive due to two of the wins being with a quarterback in Josh Dobbs, who was in the building for less than two weeks. Like the other two teams, however, the Vikings were victims of a crushing late-season collapse that took them out of the playoff race. 

Don’t let the ending take away from another memorable season for the Vikings.

What started as a simple quest for answers for the franchise’s future became an adventure for the ages, littered with twists and turns suitable for the Alex Rider series. While the ride ended disappointingly, the numbers from this season may have helped the front office to their answers after all.

To explain, we will split this season into four quarters and explain the numbers that coincide with each quarter to come to a conclusion for the future of the Vikings.

(All statistics are from Pro-Football-Reference via Stathead or rbsdm.com, unless otherwise stated.)

Josh Dobbs replaces Jaren Hall as QB2 vs. Lions

Josh Dobbs replaces Jaren Hall as the backup quarterback for Sunday’s game

After a disastrous performance against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night football, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Jaren Hall has been replaced as the backup quarterback by Josh Dobbs. Head coach Kevin O’Connell announced the news on Friday afternoon during his press conference.

“We’ll have (Josh) Dobbs as the backup, said O’Connell. “I think Dobbs has been able to go about the week and the process of getting a little bit more reps here and there, spending a little bit of time with Chris and Grant making sure he’s dialed in ready to go. Jaren will be in that emergency third (QB) role. A lot of things go into it, just the idea that third guy cannot go in the game unless there’s been injury to the first two guys. I didn’t think it was fair to Jaren to possibly have him in a situation where unless he’s injured he can’t come out of the game. Just long-term development, still a ton of confidence in where he’s at. I love the way he’s attacked this week and I think any good young player with a bright future, that’s the hope. He knows we support him fully and we’re going to use last week as a long-term learning op.”

This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise after the struggles that Hall had on Sunday. He completed just five-of-10 passes for 67 yards, an interception and a strip fack fumble. It does say something that the team still has confidence in Hall.

Dobbs has been the emergency quarterback since he was demoted after the Vikings 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. With the elevation of Dobbs, it could spell a short leash for starting quarterback Nick Mullens.

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The Real Forno Show: Who’s to blame for Vikings’ struggles?

The latest episode of The Real Forno Show dives into the Minnesota Vikings’ struggles in December. Who’s fault is it?

The Minnesota Vikings continue to disappoint fans by dropping to 7-9 with a 33-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The big question here is who deserves the blame for these poor performances in big games?

Head coach Kevin O’Connell is now 0-2 as the Vikings head coach in must-win games. It appeared when watching the games that the team wasn’t ready to play the game. There were a lot of things that went wrong for the Vikings on Sunday night.

  • Jaren Hall’s poor performance
  • Christian Darrisaw getting obliterated by Preston Smith
  • Brian Flores’ defense struggling to make adjustments
  • Do the Vikings have a talent gap that will be difficult to overcome?
  • Where do the Vikings go from here at quarterback?

We are here to break it all down and more on the latest episode of The Real Forno Show, airing Monday and Wednesday nights at 6 pm central on the Vikings 1st & SKOL YouTube channel.

Purple Daily on Draft: Value of potential Vikings draft picks

The latest episode of Purple Daily on Draft discusses draft pick values for the Minnesota Vikings in the first round

The Minnesota Vikings might have lost to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 33-10 but it also isn’t the end of the franchise.

Looking at the future of the franchise shows some real promise for the Vikings and it starts with free agency and the 2024 NFL draft.

As things currently sit, the Vikings are set to select 12th in April’s draft. With the Vikings used to picking in the 20’s, how much of a difference is there between a pick in the early 20’s and a top 10 pick or close to it?

The Vikings roster construction is currently in a rough place. What can they do to build up their talent level? Are the in a position to go full rebuild?

Lastly, Jaren Hall struggled mightily and ended up getting benched for Nick Mullens. Was it the right call? What does his future look like?

All of that and more on the latest episode of Purple Daily on Draft, dropping every Monday afternoon on the Purple Daily YouTube channel.