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AROUND THE SHIELD — A pair of former Utah starting quarterbacks were relieved to land on a team Tuesday.
But life comes at you fast in the NFL.
Both former BYU quarterback Jaren Hall and Utah starter Tyler Huntley were included among the initial 53-man roster for the Vikings and Browns, respectively. But both found themselves on the waiver wire by Thursday.
The Minnesota Vikings waived Hall, a second-year pro who prepped at Maple Mountain, to make room for former Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien, the team announced Thursday. The Athletic's Alec Lewis first reported the news.
Rypien joins the Vikings for his sixth season in the NFL after the former undrafted free agent spent time with the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets.
Hall, 26, was selected by the Vikings in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft and made two starts as a rookie in Minnesota. He left his first start against Atlanta with a concussion, before starting against Green Bay in Week 17.
Huntley's departure, which was first reported by Cleveland,com's Mary Kay Cabot and confirmed by a number of outlets including the Associated Press before the Browns announced his contract termination Thursday afternoon, comes after Cleveland initially signed four quarterbacks to the 53-man roster Tuesday a year after being forced to start five due to a rash of injuries at the position.
Huntley, 26, signed a one-year, league-miniumum deal as free agent with the team in March after three seasons as Lamar Jackson's primary backup in Baltimore, but the Florida native eventually became the odd-man out behind backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson in training camp.
He threw three touchdown passes in Cleveland's preseason finale last week, which seemed to signal a potential change in his ability to stick with the franchise.
Instead, Cleveland will carry Thompson-Robinson, Jameis Winston and Deshaun Watson, who restructured his contract with the team for a third time, according to the AP. The three-time Pro Bowler and the Browns are converting $44.79 million of Watson's $46 million base salary into a signing bonus, a move that will save over $35 million in salary-cap space.
Hall's waiver drops the total number of former BYU players on active rosters to 14, while the University of Utah has 18 with Huntley set to depart the Browns.
Latu finds a home in Cleveland
The Browns also added five players to their practice squad Thursday afternoon, including former Olympus High tight end Cameron Latu, who played collegiately at Alabama.
Latu, who won a College Football Playoff national championship in 2020 with the Crimson Tide, was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers before spending his first season on injured reserve iwth a torn meniscus in the third week of the preseason.
Slovis heads to Houston
Former BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis was signed to the Houston Texans' practice squad Thursday, making a dozen players from Utah colleges and high schools added to NFL practice squads following the initial release of 53-man rosters.
Slovis went undrafted in April after the USC and Pitt transfer threw for 1,717 yards and 12 touchdowns with six interceptions in eight games of his final season of college football in Provo. He was quickly signed to the Indianapolis Colts' preseason roster before the Scottsdale, Arizona, native was released Tuesday by the Colts — clearing the way for him to join the Texans' practice squad.
