Are these former BYU and Utah quarterbacks fighting for their NFL jobs?

Jaren Hall and Tyler Huntley have fallen near the bottom of their respective teams’ depth charts in the NFL.

On Saturday, the quarterbacks who played their college ball at rivals BYU and Utah, respectively, will face each other when the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns play in preseason action.

This weekend, as well as the preseason finale the following week, could end up being a critical juncture for both players. Do their current teams believe enough in Hall and Huntley to hold on to the signal-callers long term?

The two quarterbacks, who are both buried on the depth chart, are facing somewhat different circumstances.

Jaren Hall’s situation

Hall is in his second season with Minnesota after being a fifth-round draft pick last year. While he played sparingly as a rookie — with more negative plays than good — he found himself in a situation this year where Hall was considered by some to be a trade or cuts candidate.

Those options are less likely after Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy — who the team drafted 10th overall in April’s draft — was recently lost for the season with a torn meniscus.

That puts Minnesota in a position where offseason addition Sam Darnold is expected to be the starter, with veteran Nick Mullens his backup, unless the Vikings make a trade.

That puts Hall in a spot where he’s possibly the team’s emergency third quarterback, though would the Vikings keep him on the 53-man active roster — last year, Minnesota had to dig deep into its QB depth once starting quarterback Kirk Cousins was lost for the season to injury — or would Minnesota risk losing Hall by waiving him and stashing him on the practice squad if he clears waivers?

When McCarthy was healthy, there was a growing sentiment that Hall — who reportedly has struggled to show growth during training camp — could be waived altogether by the Vikings just one year after being drafted.

In Minnesota’s preseason opener, though he ended up leading the Vikings on a game-winning field-goal scoring drive, Hall was underwhelming, completing 7 of 16 passes for 63 yards.

Tyler Huntley’s situation

Huntley is in his first season with Cleveland after spending the past four years with the Baltimore Ravens, where he was the backup to two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and earned some playing time over multiple seasons when Jackson was injured.

He signed with the Browns after becoming a free agent, and in Cleveland, there’s more competition to make the quarterback room.

Starter Deshaun Watson is back, though he’s been eased into work after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last year, while veteran Jameis Winston is the backup and has extensive starting experience himself.

Beyond those two is Huntley and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the former UCLA quarterback who is in his second year in the league.

Considering that Cleveland isn’t expected to keep more than three quarterbacks on the active roster — or even two, and stashing another on the practice squad — one factor that could work against Huntley is that Thompson-Robinson is on his rookie contract and will be until 2026.

In that sense, if the battle is close, the Browns could lean toward keeping the younger, cheaper QB on a more team-friendly contract.

Recent injuries that have happened to McCarthy and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert have led some NFL writers to speculate about whether Huntley could be a trade possibility, given his work and starting ability in Baltimore.

During the Browns’ first preseason game last week against Green Bay, Huntley entered the game later in the first quarter, and Winston started the game, and he completed 6 of 9 passes for 41 yards.

Thompson-Robinson took over in the second half and completed 14 of 18 passes for 134 yards.

Neither quarterback threw a touchdown pass. Thompson-Robinson led a late TD drive with the game well in hand, as the Packers won 23-10.

What does this all mean for Saturday’s games?

The Star Tribune’s Mark Craig wrote that Hall will likely get a lot of snaps in Saturday’s game, then start the preseason finale at Philadelphia.

Craig, after discussing whether Mullens can be trusted as the backup, turned the conversation to Hall, writing, “Taking the ripple effect of McCarthy’s season-ending injury a step further, it also means Hall likely makes the team since, A, (Vikings coach) Kevin O’Connell knows all too well that he needs to keep three quarterbacks; and, B, Hall at least knows the offense having arrived as a fifth-round pick a year ago.”

Saturday’s game will provide Hall with another chance to prove himself.

“Yes, he’s still raw. No, we have no idea if he has a long-term future in this league, even as a QB2 or QB3,” Craig wrote. “He mopped up the preseason opener last week and wasn’t very good until the very end.”

Thompson-Robinson, meanwhile, is getting the start for Cleveland, according to WOIO 19 in Cleveland, and Huntley will “finish out the game.”

Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Zac Jackson made an updated 53-man roster projection for the Browns and gave the No. 3 QB edge to Thompson-Robinson.

“It’s Thompson-Robinson versus Tyler Huntley for the No. 3 job, and for now I give the edge to Thompson-Robinson because he’s been the better thrower in camp and is under a rookie contract through 2026. There’s a chance the Browns could trade one of them,” Jackson wrote.

“There’s even a small chance Huntley will make the team and have some sort of designated quarterback sneak role early in the season with the Browns wanting to protect Watson’s shoulder. There are probably a lot of teams that would consider both Huntley and Thompson-Robinson an upgrade to their current rooms, so stay tuned.”

Saturday’s game between Minnesota and Cleveland kicks off at 2:25 p.m. MDT.

This weekend’s NFL preseason schedule

Note: For NFL+ subscribers, all NFL preseason games will be streamed live on NFL+.

Saturday

• Atlanta Falcons at Baltimore Ravens, 10 a.m. MDT
• Cincinnati Bengals at Chicago Bears, 11 a.m. MDT (NFL Network)
• New York Giants at Houston Texans, 11 a.m. MDT
• Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs, 2 p.m. MDT (NFL Network)
• Minnesota Vikings at Cleveland Browns, 2:25 p.m. MDT
• New York Jets at Carolina Panthers, 5 p.m. MDT
• Arizona Cardinals at Indianapolis Colts, 5 p.m. MDT
• Washington Commanders at Miami Dolphins, 5 p.m. MDT
• Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers, 5 p.m. MDT (NFL Network)
• Seattle Seahawks at Tennessee Titans, 5 p.m. MDT
• Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Chargers, 5:05 p.m. MDT (ABC/KJZZ/KUCW)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Jacksonville Jaguars, 5:30 p.m. MDT
• Dallas Cowboys at Las Vegas Raiders, 8 p.m. MDT (ABC/NFL Network)

Sunday

• Green Bay Packers at Denver Broncos, 6 p.m. MDT (NFL Network)
• New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers, 6 p.m. MDT (NFL Network)