With their playoff hopes teetering in the balance, the Vikings are making a change at quarterback. Minnesota, which is currently the eighth-seeded team in the NFC standings, is starting rookie Jaren Hall over Nick Mullens for Sunday night's must-win game over the Packers, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell announced Thursday.
The move was expected after O'Connell alluded to possibly making a switch at quarterback earlier this week.
"We're trying to work through what still gives us the best chance to be explosive, but we've got to still possess the ball," O'Connell said. "All three of those. guys [Mullens, Hall and Joshua Dobbs] are worthy of being involved in that discussion. We'll make the best decision in the interest of winning games."
Mullens has started each of the last two games for Minnesota (both losses) after he leaped over Dobbs on the depth chart after the fellow veteran also started to struggle.
Hall was the first quarterback to have his number called in the aftermath of Kirk Cousins' season-ending Achilles tear. He started that first game following Cousins' injury when the Vikings visited the Falcons in Week 9, but Hall suffered a concussion in the first quarter, which paved the way for Joshua Dobbs to come in and take ahold of the job. Now, Hall is healthy and Mullens has made multiple mistakes within his two starts, which is opening the door for another change under center.
Not only is Mullens 0-2 but he's made plenty of questionable decisions that have directly contributed to those defeats. In Minnesota's most recent loss to the Lions, Mullens threw four interceptions and arguably should've had more with a handful of questionable throws. His final turnover was the game-clincher for Detroit and arguably his most egregious. Mullens had Justin Jefferson open deep down the middle of the field but threw a wobbly pass that allowed safety Ifeatu Melifonwu enough time to undercut the throw and record the interception.
MelifonWOOOOOOOOO‼️#DETvsMIN on FOX pic.twitter.com/wTexRiBbRi
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 24, 2023
Mullens also had two picks in the loss to Cincinnati the week prior.
As for Hall, he was a fifth-round pick by the Vikings this offseason out of BYU. In his brief showing earlier this year before getting injured, he completed eight of his 10 passes for 101 yards and also rushed for 10 yards.
