3 Vikings who locked up roster spot, 1 on verge of being cut in preseason Week 1

Vikings player who might be cut after preseason Week 1: Jaren Hall, QB

Sure, a rookie quarterback like Jaren Hall is with the Vikings probably isn’t going to be cut. At worst, he’s going to be put on the practice squad. But that’s really semantics as what we saw against the Seahawks from the fifth-round pick in this year’s draft does not look like a player who remotely has a place on the 53-man roster.

Part of that is looking at him in comparison to veteran Nick Mullens, who got the start in Seattle. Mullens got more playing time, but still finished the game going 14-of-20 for 139 yards, one touchdown, no picks and a couple of solid scrambles to pick up positive yardage. Then Hall came in to finish his night going 6-of-14 for 37 yards, no scores, no turnovers, and no rushes.

Yes, Hall, was playing with the lower-depth chart guys for the Vikings, sure. That was evident in the pressure that the depth offensive line pieces allowed. At the same time, though, he looked a bit rattled by the pressure, trying to manufacture room to run or throw far too often and make too much happen, which ultimately resulted in two sacks taken in limited work.

My big concern with Hall is that he’s doing this as a 25-year-old rookie. Coming into the NFL at that age already limits the upside, but you expect such a player to have more of a sensibility about themselves when they’re on the field. Granted, it was his first NFL action, but the returns were not particularly enticing.

Mullens pretty clearly entrenched himself as QB2 and Hall has a lot to prove in order to be worth even challenging the veteran. As of now, he might as well get started prepping to deal with practice squad life.