It will be rookie Jaren Hall, not journeyman Josh Dobbs, as the backup quarterback when the Vikings play the Bengals on Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati. It seemed to be trending in this direction after head coach Kevin O’Connell named veteran Nick Mullens the starting quarterback over Dobbs earlier this week.

Asked to explain the decision, O’Connell noted that Hall is fully healthy after recovering from a concussion, adding that the idea was to get him in the mindset that he could potentially be playing this week.

“He has really gotten back on the grass and really worked through his continued development,” O’Connell said. “He’s done a nice job, and (we) just kind of want to go about it that way.”

This is the first time Hall will be active since he suffered a concussion last month while making the first start of his career.

Filling in for the injured Kirk Cousins, Hall was 5 for 6 passing for 78 yards early in the game against the Falcons in Atlanta. He then suffered a concussion while scrambling near the goal line, which opened the door for Dobbs to come in and lead the Vikings to an improbable comeback victory.

The fact that Hall is the backup makes Dobbs the emergency quarterback. That means Dobbs can only enter the game if both Mullens and Hall get hurt.

“Tons of confidence in all of those guys,” O’Connell said. “I know our entire offensive group feels that way, and we feel fortunate, having lost Kirk, to have the kind of depth that we do.”

The domino effect of Cousins going down is worth diving into considering everything that has happened over the past month and a half. At the time, Mullens was on injured reserve with a back injury, which thrust Hall into the spotlight, and sparked the Vikings to acquire Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals at the trade deadline.

In an alternate universe, Cousins goes down a couple of months ago, and Mullens replaces him with the Vikings playing the Packers in Green Bay. In that scenario, Hall likely would have been the backup quarterback, and Dobbs likely would not have been a part of the story at all.

“We have a process in place now to be prepared for just about everything,” O’Connell said. “Looking forward to seeing Nick go out there. He had a really good practice, felt kind of the comfort in the things that we’re doing in our system, and I think, hopefully, we can get the other 10 guys in the huddle to be at their best so we can have a good day offensively.”

Briefly

After not participating in practice this week, right tackle Brian O’Neill (ankle), running back Alexander Mattison (ankle) and receiver Jalen Nailor (concussion) have been ruled out for Saturday’s game in Cincinnati. Meanwhile, start receiver Justin Jefferson (chest) is listed as questionable, even though he has made is clear that he intends to play this weekend.

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