Vikings hope to keep Jaren Hall on practice squad after signing Brett Rypien

The Vikings want to continue the process of Hall's development.

Aug 24, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Jaren Hall (16) throws against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. / Caean Couto-USA TODAY Sports

The Vikings signed veteran quarterback Brett Rypien and waived Jaren Hall on Thursday, but they're hoping to keep Hall around on the practice squad and continue his development process, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said on Thursday.

"Jaren's done a great job for us," Adofo-Mensah said. "He really improved over the preseason. I use that development word a lot. With quarterbacks, you don't want to throw these guys in too early. With him, we just want more time to pour into him."

What this move clearly came down to is that the Vikings don't believe Hall, even after a strong preseason, is ready to play in regular season games right now. They started four quarterbacks last year — Kirk Cousins, Hall, Josh Dobbs, and Nick Mullens — which was an experience that taught them about the importance of having reliable depth at that position.

"I've learned from last season that you're either one snap away (from playing) or one snap from being one snap away," Adofo-Mensah said. "Adding Brett to the room, we feel good about that decision, but also, giving us more time to pour into Jaren and work with him if he chooses to do that."

Last season, after Cousins got hurt, the Vikings turned to Hall to start a game in Atlanta. He was knocked out of the game with a concussion before the first quarter ended. Two months later, after benching both Dobbs and Mullens, they turned to Hall for a start at Lambeau Field. He was benched at halftime. The Vikings think the 2023 fifth-round pick out of BYU has a chance to turn into something as an NFL QB, but they don't want to repeat their mistake of putting him on the field before he's ready.

"I fully believe in Jaren Hall's future," Kevin O'Connell said. "I believe that we brought Jaren here for a long-term process. You guys have heard me talk about quarterback journeys a lot — that timeline got sped up when we went through the amount of numbers we did a year ago."

Hall showed some flashes in the final two preseason games this year, throwing four total touchdown passes. But that action against mostly third and fourth-stringers only tells you so much.

Rypien is a sixth-year veteran who has appeared in ten regular season games in his career. After four years with the Broncos, he spent last season with Sean McVay and the Rams, where he learned an offense similar to the one O'Connell runs in Minnesota. That'll allow him to get up to speed quickly. He was with the Bears in training camp and had a nice preseason of his own, completing 24 of 34 passes for 335 yards and three TDs.

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If it comes down to it — and they're obviously hoping it doesn't — the Vikings would feel better about turning to Rypien this year than they would about playing Hall. Rypien could even theoretically push Mullens for the QB2 job this season, although O'Connell said he anticipates Mullens being the backup in Week 1.

"That move was really indicative of knowing what we went through last year, having the opportunity to have a couple veteran guys behind Sam with comfort in the system," O'Connell said. "Brett has some exposure to different variations of our system, (which) will give him a fast track timeline. It gives us a little more of a short term, foundational plan for a week from Sunday, versus what might be in Jaren Hall's best interest or what's best for his career.

"Knowing that we put (Jaren) in a tough situation as a rookie last year, I really want to evaluate what is in his best interest for him to have the longest, most successful career, and reach all the goals that he's more than talented enough to reach," O'Connell continued. "I do hope that involves him staying here and continuing that process."