Vikings Starting Jaren Hall In Week 17

The Vikings have now benched Josh Dobbs and Nick Mullens in the last three weeks. 

Reports from earlier in the week mentioned that Hall was being considered for the starting job.

What’s interesting is that this is a must-win game for both the Vikings and Packers, who are fighting for a wildcard spot.  

Hall, 25, was a two-year starter at BYU. The Vikings drafted him in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

He signed a four-year, $4.12 million rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $279,272. 

During his four-year college career, Hall appeared in 31 games with 24 starts. He completed 65.2 percent of his pass attempts for 6,174 yards, 52 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, adding 181 rush attempts for 798 yards and nine touchdowns. 

In 2023, Hall has appeared in two games and completed eight of 10 pass attempts for 101 yards. He’s added four carries for 10 yards. 

Mullens, 28, wound up signing on with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Miss back in 2017. He was waived coming out of the preseason and later added to their practice squad.

The 49ers brought Mullens back on a futures contract in 2018 only to release him at the start of the regular season. Mullens had a brief stint on their practice squad before being called up following Jimmy Garoppolo‘s season-ending knee injury.

Mullens re-signed as an exclusive rights free agent heading into 2020 but San Francisco declined to tender him as a restricted free agent. The Eagles signed him to a contract before releasing him and he eventually caught on with the Browns.

Mullens signed with the Raiders as a backup to QB Derek Carr but was traded to the Vikings for a 2024 seventh-round pick. Minnesota re-signed him to a contract last offseason. 

In 2023, Mullens has appeared in three games for the Vikings and completed 57-82 pass attempts (69.5 completion percentage) for 797 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions.