Sunday’s Game Is Personal for Carson Wentz
Just like we all predicted a month ago when he was still a free agent and Sam Howell and Brett Rypien were the backups, Carson Wentz will start Sunday’s game as the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. It’ll be the last home game for nearly a month, as the next two contests will take place overseas, followed by the annual bye week.
Sunday’s Game Is Personal for Carson Wentz
J.J. McCarthy will be sidelined with an ankle injury, and Wentz is the next man up. The game against the Cincinnati Bengals will be the veteran’s 95th career start and the first in a meaningful game since the 2022 season, which he spent in Washington.
For Wentz, Sunday’s game and all the chances he’ll get are opportunities to revitalize his career in the third year of his backup journey. It’s more than that, however. Wentz grew up a Vikings fan, and he reemphasized how special it is for him to play for the Minnesota Vikings during his press conference on Wednesday.
“I grew up rooting for this team. It’s one of those things, you play long enough and you can kind of forget about those things, because it’s football, you’re bouncing around teams. But being here, I kind of alluded to it when I first got here, just how cool it is for me. I used to cheer for the guys that I’m walking down the hallway seeing (on the walls). I used to come to the Metrodome, and I was waving the towel, I was part of the Skol chants, all the things. So running out of the tunnel this week will probably hit me a little bit different in a really cool, kind of surreal way.”
Although his mind might trick him about the Skol chant that was implemented a decade ago, his cheering for the Vikings has been well documented.
Wentz grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he played high school ball. Later, he attended the University of North Dakota State and started his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Stints with the Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Rams, and Kansas City Chiefs led him to his sixth NFL team in six years, the Minnesota Vikings.
In fact, he will be the first player in NFL history to start a game for six different franchises within a span of six seasons.
Wentz will start a game less than four weeks after joining the club. That surely is a challenge, but he’ll have the benefit of working with Kevin O’Connell, who has shown his knack for working with experienced passers and getting the best out of them. Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold signed big-time contracts elsewhere after spending time with him. His big project, J.J. McCarthy, is currently on pause, at least from a playing standpoint. He’s still part of the QB meetings, of course.
Another benefit is the fact that Justin Jefferson will be roaming the field and garnering the defense’s attention. Perhaps Wentz can also kickstart T.J. Hockenson’s season, who had a couple of surprisingly quiet games with McCarthy running the show.
It would also be cool to see him connect with Adam Thielen, another long-time Vikings fan. Jordan Mason will headline the running game, as Aaron Jones is on IR with a hamstring injury, and the offensive line is another mystery. In the first game of the season, the front had a wonderful performance, but they struggled in game two. Ryan Kelly and Christian Darrisaw have an uncertain status for the game. It’s worth mentioning, though, that McCarthy’s hesitancy in the pocket didn’t quite help the linemen look good against the Falcons.
Either way, there’s enough talent around Wentz to expect him to do well in his first start for his childhood team.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.