Jaren Hall is back up.
The Vikings are making another quarterback switch as the club looks for some better play at the position to make a postseason push. Hall will take over for Sunday’s game against the Packers, head coach Kevin O’Connell announced on Thursday afternoon.
That sends Nick Mullens to the bench after he started the last two games.
Mullens threw six interceptions in the last two weeks, which was a clear factor in making the change.
“We have to maintain possession of the football,” O’Connell said, via Alec Lewis of TheAthletic.com.
Hall, a rookie fifth-round pick out of BYU, started the Nov. 5 win over the Falcons but had to exit the game early on after suffering a concussion. He was 5-of-6 for 78 yards to begin that contest. Hall also finished Minnesota’s Oct. 29 win over Green Bay when Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles.
“Now that he’s healthy, he’s had a great few weeks of preparation,” O’Connell said, via Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune. “Looking forward to seeing what Jaren can do.”
The Vikings have started Hall, Mullens, and Josh Dobbs at quarterback since Cousins went down. Dobbs started out hot with Minnesota after arriving from the Cardinals at the trading deadline, but threw five interceptions in two games before he was rendered ineffective by Las Vegas’ defense in Minnesota’s 3-0 win on Dec. 10. Mullens finished that matchup and started the next two.
Now with the Vikings at 7-8, Hall will take over for New Year’s Eve on Sunday Night Football.
