After surviving six years of the mediocrity-laden Kirk Cousins experience, Minnesota Vikings fans have something to look forward to in their new rookie quarterback. First-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy remains a mystery box, unknown but potentially promising, and that has rejuvenated a sense of optimism long missing from a historically downtrodden fanbase. However, McCarthy will likely remain a tantalizing mystery for at least a little while longer, as all indications are he will not start immediately.
In mid-March, Minnesota signed six-year veteran quarterback Sam Darnold to a one-year, $10 million contract, with expectations of him being the Week 1 starter regardless of whether they selected a quarterback in the draft. That status quo hasn’t changed four months later, despite Minnesota’s eventful 2024 draft. Kevin O’Connell won’t want to rush the potential face of the franchise if Darnold has to miss some time early on, which means McCarthy will likely be the team’s third quarterback as they head to East Rutherford, N.J., to face the New York Giants in Week 1.
As McCarthy begins the season as QB3, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall will compete to earn the backup job behind Darnold. Mullens is a six-year veteran who played in five games for the Vikings last season, and he has the upper hand over the younger and less proven Hall. That doesn’t mean Hall couldn’t usurp Mullens and become Darnold’s primary backup before the start of the season. However, it won’t be easy for the second-year BYU product.
There isn’t a significant financial difference between the two quarterbacks; Mullens is slated to make only $1.25 million more than Hall this season. If the Vikings part ways with Mullens in favor of Hall, they would save roughly $940,000 in cap space — but they already have a comfy cap margin of $26 million.
Minnesota likely won’t make any more transactions that require significant financial commitment, meaning most of their cap space will roll over into next season and will not affect how Kwesi Adofo-Mensah constructs this season’s roster. Hall is technically the cheaper option, but the meager savings he would bring this season will likely be irrelevant.
All things being relatively equal, you’d assume whichever guy played a little better in camp and the pre-season would get the nod. But the battle for QB2 isn’t quite so straightforward. Hall doesn’t need to perform significantly better than Mullens. He just needs to perform well enough to show he could be a competent backup.
If Hall can display competence at the position, which he did in two drives against the Atlanta Falcons last season, he could win the job over Mullens. Hall has two more years of team control, while Mullens will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2024-25 season. Darnold will also be a free agent after this season, meaning if the team elects to part ways with Hall, McCarthy will be the only quarterback under contract next season.
However, finding a backup quarterback isn’t hard, and desirable options like Jacoby Brissett, Jarrett Stidham, and Drew Lock are expected to be free agents next season. Still, it would be ideal to have two homegrown talents in McCarthy and Hall occupying the starting and backup spots in 2025 rather than outsourcing and incurring unnecessary cap hits.
Hall had some promising moments last season. When Cousins tore his Achilles in Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8, Hall stepped in to complete three of four passes for 23 yards and close out a convincing 24-10 victory.
That game was well in hand before Hall took the field. But in his debut start against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9, the first-year quarterback showed some real flashes. In his second drive at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the then-25-year-old rookie hit tight end Johnny Mundt for a first down on a play-action rollout pass. Then he found running back Alexander Mattison for a 47-yard gain up the right sideline. Unfortunately, he sustained a concussion later in the drive, forcing him to exit the game.
Then Joshua Dobbs turned into “The Passtronaut” for almost a month, and Mullens stepped in after Dobbs plummeted back to Earth. Hall wouldn’t see the field again until Week 17 when he started against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Hall struggled in that start, completing only five of 10 total pass attempts for 67 yards and surrendering an interception to cornerback Corey Ballentine. The Vikings ultimately pulled him in favor of Mullens, and he didn’t make another appearance for the team.
Public perception of Hall is at an all-time low, particularly after his dreadful performance against Green Bay. But if nearly everyone agrees with the consensus opinion that it’s wise to let McCarthy sit on the sideline for at least part of the year, we must remember that Hall, too, was a rookie thrown into the fire early on. He now has NFL experience and a whole offseason to elevate his game. Certainly, Mullens has the upper hand in terms of overall experience. Still, the right balance of experience, youth, and a slightly favorable contract situation could be Hall’s ticket to making the final 53-man roster.
