Three quarterbacks were selected to be on the Minnesota Vikings’ initial 53-man roster: Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall. Hall, in his second season, played well in the preseason against the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. On 19 of his 30 throw completions, he amassed 276 yards and four touchdowns. Despite Hall’s impressive performance, the Vikings have already cut him and signed veteran quarterback Brett Rypien in Hall’s place, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.

Brett Rypien, an experienced quarterback, joins the Vikings

After going undrafted in 2019, Rypien was signed by the Denver Broncos. He then participated in practice squad games for the Broncos in 2019. Before being signed to the 53-man roster in 2020, he spent one season as a member of the Broncos practice squad. In 2020–2022, Rypien had eight appearances for the Broncos, three of which were as starters. During five games, he completed 80 out of 130 passes for 778 yards, four touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

The Broncos benched Rypien after the 2022 season. He then signed a contract with the Los Angeles Rams, where he would make two starts and play two games in 2023. In those two games, Rypien completed 18 of 38 passes for 172 yards and threw one interception. Rypien was cut by the Rams at the end of the 2023 season.

Over the summer of 2024, Rypien signed a contract with the Chicago Bears. Rypien completed 24 of 34 throws for 335 yards and three touchdowns while playing in all of the preseason games. On five rushes, he also picked up seven yards. He had his greatest preseason performance against the Texans in the Hall of Fame game, going 11/15 for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

Given that Rypien has proven himself as a starting quarterback, it’s a little confusing why the Vikings made the decision to switch quarterbacks. Hall has only made two starts in his career. It seemed like he made some progress in the offseason, even though he didn’t look fantastic during one of his starts the prior season. The Vikings, it seems, held a different view and wanted a different veteran in the quarterback room. Ultimately, it’s never a good thing when the backup quarterback is involved in a game.