Vikings Worried About One QB, Ramping Up Another

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Carson Wentz, Max Brosmer - Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

Well, we blinked and the first quarter of the 2025 NFL season flew bye. In fact, when the Minnesota Vikings next take the field at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Philadelphia Eagles two Sundays from now, the regular season will already be 1/3 complete.

The good news — Our MN Vikings will reboot their year as a 3-2 football team and they could be a lot healthier, after head coach Kevin O’Connell brought lots of positive injury news to his press conference on Monday.

It sounds like LG Donovan Jackson could be back, along with backup C Michael Jurgens, ILB Blake Cashman and possibly even 2024 No. 10 overall draft pick, JJ McCarthy.

When it comes to their redshirt rookie QB, however, lots of fog remains surrounding the redshirt rookie’s return timeline. Prior to O’Connell’s meeting with media yesterday, most Vikings fans and media had mostly accepted that the Vikings were going to hold McCarthy out until their second week back from the bye.

JJ McCarthy could return sooner than expected… kind of

If they slowplay JJ’s return (for injury reasons of course), it would put him in line to return week 8, when the MN Vikings fly West to face the Los Angeles Chargers. But that was before KOC confirmed Monday — after Jordan Addison originally broke the news — that JJ McCarthy has indeed returned to the TCO Performance practice field in Eagan.

The Vikings plan to have the redshirt rookie throwing throughout the bye, where they hope to ramp him up for a return to team practice early next week. That means JJ McCarthy returning as QB1 directly out of the bye is still a realistic possibility.

“J.J. got some work today, and he’ll get some work the rest of the week. We’ll pick it up officially next week, but I’m encouraged about where he’s at right now.”

Kevin O’Connell during Monday’s press conference

But there was another note by Kevin O’Connell during his presser that stuck out and could make the recovery of JJ McCarthy even more intriguing to watch over the next two weeks.

Minnesota Vikings concerned about Carson Wentz’ health

After JJ’s replacement, Carson Wentz, left Sunday’s game in London against the Pittsburgh Steelers early with a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury, he goes into the bye week far from 100%. In fact, the Minnesota Vikings appear concerned about his readiness for week 7, when they come out of the bye.

“Just to give you guys an update on Carson [Wentz], we did get back [from London] early this morning, so he is still getting further evaluation. But he is pretty sore in that left shoulder, so that will be something that we’ll be taking a look at throughout this week.”

Kevin O’Connell during Monday’s press conference

Related: Vikings’ Upcoming Opponent Loses Major Weapon on Offense

How sore is Carson Wentz? Well, according to The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, Wentz’ recent shoulder problems go back farther than week 5. Apparently, the Vikings’ 32-year-old QB2 — who was NOT listed at all on last week’s injury reports — was dealing with a right (thowing) shoulder ailment all last week in London, an injury he suffered in Dublin against the Steelers.

During practice last week, per Lewis’ report, Wentz wasn’t throwing near 100%. And when some of his teammates hit the British links to blow off some steam, the avid golfer was forced to stay back because his right shoulder was in too much pain and needed rest ahead of their game against the Browns.

Carson Wentz dealing with two shoulder injuries?

In the fourth quarter [week 5], Darrisaw, O’Neill, Kelly and injured quarterback J.J. McCarthy were all standing shoulder to shoulder watching the replacement group battle a Browns front deemed by many to be one of the league’s best. The image captured the early-season carnage.

Wentz himself was hobbled. He couldn’t play golf on Tuesday with teammates because of the pounding he took last Sunday against the Steelers. In practice this week, he lobbed passes and tugged at his ribs.

Alec Lewis – The Athletic

Related: Vikings Make Roster Changes After Injury Update

Much like the rest of us, when Wentz hurt his left shoulder on Sunday morning, he too was extremely unsure of whether or not he’d be able to return for the third quarter. Fortunately he did, then proceeded to lead the Vikings on a last-minute game-winning touchdown drive.

Minnesota Vikings starting QB for vs Eagles is anyone’s guess

We have a dozen days between now and the MN Vikings next game, so there is time to figure all of this out. But as of Tuesday, October 7, it appears Kevin O’Connell & Co have very little idea of who will be the team’s starting quarterback week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

If both McCarthy and Wentz are available, the head coach will have a franchise altering decision to make. Should that be the scenario, he has already committed to bringing JJ back as the starter, so until he says otherwise, that’s the expectation.

If only one of the two is available, then the decision will be easy. But for now, it feels just as likely we see QB3, former Gopher, Max Brosmer make his first NFL start, as a UDFA rookie signee. If that happens, hang onto your hats…

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