When the NFL Cutdown Day deadline passed on Tuesday, former BYU quarterback Jaren Hall and former Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley each had a job in the NFL.

Now both are apparently looking for a new team.

The Minnesota Vikings confirmed Thursday morning that they are releasing Hall and replacing him with quarterback Brett Rypien, who was released by the Chicago Bears earlier this week. The news was first reported by Alec Lewis of The Athletic.

The Cleveland Browns released Huntley after failing to find a trade partner, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Instead, the Browns, who had four quarterbacks on the roster on the day of the release, will bring back running back D’Onta Foreman to fill Huntley’s spot on the 53-man roster, according to Cabot.

Why was Jaren Hall fired?

Hall, a former BYU and Maple Mountain High standout, was selected in the fifth round by the Vikings last year and started two games as a rookie but did not finish either game.

A year after Minnesota lost starter Kirk Cousins ​​to injury, the Vikings selected former Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy in the first round of this year’s draft. However, McCarthy is out for the rest of the season after suffering a torn meniscus in training camp.

This put the Vikings in an interesting predicament, with Cousins ​​now in Atlanta and their expected long-term starter on the bench.

Hall was ranked behind NFL veteran Sam Darnold, a new addition to the Vikings, and Nick Mullens, making him the third option for the quarterback position.

Rypien, a sixth-year veteran who has started four games in his career as a veteran quarterback, offers a more “short-term” solution, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said, according to ESPN.

“This move was really indicative of what we went through last year,” O’Connell said, according to ESPN.

Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said Minnesota will try to re-sign Hall to the practice squad – if he gets off the waivers – but he doesn’t like the fact that Hall is “just one snap or one snap at a time” away from playing in the regular season again, which is a concern at this stage of his development.

Hall was coming off his best game as a Viking, completing 17 of 25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Vikings to a 26-3 victory over Philadelphia in the team’s final game of the season last Saturday.

Why was Tyler Huntley released?

Huntley competed with Dorian Thompson-Robinson for the QB3 spot on the Browns, behind starter Deshaun Watson and veteran backup Jameis Winston.

The former University of Utah quarterback, who spent the past four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, was originally retained by the Browns on the team’s initial 53-man roster as Cleveland kept four quarterbacks on its roster following Tuesday’s cut deadline.

Zac Jackson and Dianna Russini of The Athletic, who first reported the news, said Cleveland explored transfer options for all three backups – Winston, Huntley and Thompson-Robinson – but did not reach a suitable deal.

The Browns had a greater need at running back, as they only had two healthy running backs on the roster after Tuesday’s cutdown deadline – Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr.

Foreman’s re-instatement into Cleveland’s roster just days after his release will help alleviate that problem.

Huntley has been at his best in his brief stint with Cleveland, where he signed as a free agent in the offseason. Last Saturday, he completed 17 of 22 passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns in one half of a 37-33 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Huntley was more efficient in the preseason than Thompson-Robinson was in his second year.

He completed 37 of 51 passes for 322 yards, scored three touchdowns and two interceptions, and added 46 rushing yards on eight runs.

Thompson-Robinson, meanwhile, completed 38 of 55 passes for 375 yards, scored one touchdown and one interception, and had a 2-yard run.

He was selected in the fifth round by the Browns last season and started three games for Cleveland last year before suffering a season-ending hip injury.