With Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy reportedly out up to four weeks due to a sprained ankle, Carson Wentz becomes the next man up.
At some point over the next month, will undrafted rookie Max Brosmer become the next man in?
Brosmer, the only one of three backups throughout the offseason program and training camp to make it to the 53-man roster (Sam Howell and Brett Rypien are gone), played at the University of Minnesota last season. And the Vikings love him.
He’s not currently ready. Wentz, with 94 career regular-season starts, is — even if hasn’t been around for very long.
We saw this movie two years ago. Wentz will play unless and until he squanders the opportunity. Unless and until the Vikings add another veteran, Brosmer will be the only alternative.
The season could quickly go sideways for the Vikings, after last Monday night’s thrilling win. McCarthy has had one quality quarter in two games. And while last night’s injury likely impacted his late-game play, some Vikings fans have to be wondering whether they should have kept Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones. Or signed Aaron Rodgers. Or traded for Kirk Cousins.
The last part remains possible. If, when McCarthy returns, the struggles continue, the Vikings will have until the Tuesday after Week 9 to decide whether to bring Kirk home in an effort to save the 2025 campaign.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy isn’t the only Minnesota player who is unlikely to play in the Week 3 matchup against Cincinnati.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters that running back Aaron Jones is unlikely to play on Sunday with his hamstring injury.
“[W]e’ll figure out kind of the determining factor for that timeline,” O’Connell said.
Jones was sidelined during the second half of last night’s game. He took five carries for 23 yards before exiting the contest.
Additionally, center Ryan Kelly and left tackle Justin Skule are both in the concussion protocol. While O’Connell said they’ve shown some “positive early signs,” the availability of Kelly and Skule is up to the medical professionals.
O’Connell also noted that left tackle Christian Darrisaw is close to returning, so there’s a chance he could be available this week.
Minnesota’s first injury report of the week will be out on Wednesday.
The Vikings have several injury concerns coming off of Sunday night’s loss to the Falcons, but one stands out above the others.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters in his Monday press conference that J.J. McCarthy is unlikely to play in Week 3 against the Bengals due to an ankle sprain.
“J.J. McCarthy did come in very, very sore today with the ankle sprain. I would anticipate we are not planning on having him for Sunday,” O’Connell said. “And don’t likely see this being any kind of short-term IR [injured reserve] thing. But, I do want to see … how he responds to treatment this week.
“But give him a ton of credit, just the toughness to get that thing taped up and keep playing. But that is something that we were able to determine today. So, obviously tough news there.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports McCarthy is likely to be sidelined two-to-four weeks with his injury.
O’Connell added that the team will get Carson Wentz ready to play.
“[Wentz] had a really good practice last week when J.J. was out of the building on a Thursday — third-down kind of day. Carson stepped in and did a great job,” O’Connell said. “So, I know the guys will have a ton of confidence in him, as well as Max [Brosmer] being a snap away.”
O’Connell noted that McCarthy being sidelined is purely due to his ankle injury and not about performance.
McCarthy’s ankle sprain may have occurred on his scramble on second-and-20, O’Connell said.
“He was able to get toward our sideline and just kind of got rolled up. And in the moment, didn’t necessarily think it was significant,” O’Connell said. “He came off after that series, there was somebody in the blue tent. So, he was kind of evaluated right there and just kind of taped up, and went back in the game.
“I think it’s one of those things, just kind of hearing from our medical staff, one of those things that tends to be much worse today than probably it was in the moment with adrenaline and everything. But like I said, huge compliment to him for fighting through it and continuing to compete.”
McCarthy finished Sunday’s loss 11-of-21 passing for 158 yards with two interceptions. While he rushed for 25 yards on five attempts, he took six sacks and also lost one of his three fumbles.
Through two games, McCarthy has completed 24-of-41 passes for 301 yards with two TDs and three picks. He’s rushed for 50 yards with a touchdown.
Wentz spent last season with the Chiefs, appearing in three games with one start at the end of the season. He was 12-of-19 for 118 yards in those appearances.
Since the end of the 2020 season with Philadelphia, Wentz — the No. 2 overall pick of the 2016 draft — has spent a year with the Colts, Commanders, Rams, and Chiefs. This will be his first start in a game of consequence since 2022 with Washington, as his starts in Los Angeles and Kansas City were each in Week 18 after a playoff position had been clinched.
In his lone career playoff game, quarterback Derek Carr took the Raiders to Cincinnati and nearly beat the Bengals, who would go on to nearly win the Super Bowl.
With the Bengals now looking for help at quarterback during the expected three-month absence of Joe Burrow with a toe injury, Carr likely isn’t an option to emerge from retirement.
While he didn’t close the door on playing again during a recent visit with Dan Patrick, it’s clear that Carr is still dealing with the shoulder injury that prompted him to opt to retire in May. Then there’s the fact that he remains under contract with the Saints; for Carr to be available, a trade would be necessary.
Also, the Bengals are ready to roll with Jake Browning, who went 4-3 as a starter in 2023, after Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury in November.
For the Bengals, it’s more about finding an understudy for Browning than a replacement. Physically, Carr seemingly isn’t ready to serve either role.
Confirmation that Joe Burrow is set to miss at least the next three months after surgery to repair torn ligaments in his toe didn’t come until Monday, but the Bengals reportedly didn’t wait for that word before starting to make plans for a future without the quarterback.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Bengals started reaching out to free agents after Burrow went down in the first half of Sunday’s win over the Jaguars. Jake Browning played the rest of the game and the Bengals also have Brett Rypien on their practice squad.
One familiar face on the list of free agents is Desmond Ridder. Ridder spent the summer in training camp with the Bengals, which would give him a leg up on learning the offense although his play in Atlanta and Las Vegas did little to create confidence in his ability to lead a team.
Mike White, Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Trask, and Nate Sudfeld are some of the other available quarterbacks. The Bengals could also sign someone to their active roster off another team’s practice squad or they could look into the trade market.
Falcons backup Kirk Cousins is one of the names that will come up on that front. Jameis Winston of the Giants and Case Keenum of the Bears are both the third quarterbacks on their roster while the Eagles have both Sam Howell and Tanner McKee backing up Jalen Hurts, but it’s unclear whether any of those teams are going to be motivated to make a move at this point in the season.
