Kevin O’Connell & Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Explain Vikings Plan After QB Roster Moves

O’Connell pointed to Rypien’s familiarity with similar offenses, including time spent last season with the Los Angeles Rams, as well as what he showed during the 2024 preseason with the Bears.

Rypien completed 24 of 34 passes for 335 yards with three touchdowns and a passer rating of 131.4 for Chicago.

“Brett has some exposure to, you know, different variations of our system that will give him a fast-track timeline,” O’Connell said. “And just knowing where he’s at mentally, the type of preseason he had, it gives us a little bit more of a short-term kind of foundational plan for a week from Sunday versus what might be in Jaren Hall’s best interest for what’s best for his career.

Hall, a fifth-round pick in 2023, finished his second NFL preseason having completed 28 of 46 passes for 339 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 112.5.

“I fully believe in Jaren Hall’s future,” O’Connell said. “I believe that we brought Jaren here for a long-term process that, quite honestly, you guys have heard me talk about quarterback journeys a lot. That timeline got sped up when we went through the numbers at the position we did a year ago.

“And all Jaren has done, you know, since that is do all the right things, improve. I thought he was, you know, showing a lot of those things in the preseason action,” O’Connell added. “That move was really indicative of knowing what we went through last year, having the opportunity to have a couple veteran guys behind Sam that give us an opportunity, with comfort in the system.”