Kevin O’Connell Confirms a Suspicion
Minnesota’s quarterback position has had to endure all kinds of speculation ever since the club’s elimination in last year’s playoffs. Should Sam Darnold remain, or is J.J. McCarthy ready? What about Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers, or Joe Flacco? Entering training camp, the lineup was clear: McCarthy is the starter, Sam Howell the backup, Brett Rypien the emergency QB3, and Max Brosmer auditioning for the practice squad.
Kevin O’Connell Confirms a Suspicion
Suddenly, that hierarchy is no longer written in stone. McCarthy has cemented his slot as the starter, but everything else is a mystery after Skol Nation watched the trio of backups compete in a pair of preseason matchups.
Saturday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium revealed a truth many had thought was long gone following his decent preseason opener: Howell still hasn’t convinced everyone, and folks asked themselves whether it might be time to make it a real competition until cutdown day.
After the game, Kevin O’Connell, the man who’s calling the shots, was asked about the quarterbacks, and he informed local media that it is, in fact, a competition: “There’s a reason why we’re playing all three of them. As far as what that means, the overall competition, I think I’d just say that it’s still open and we’re trying to figure out what the group is room is going to look like for the season, but I do like all the players a lot.”
Howell was acquired via trade from the Seattle Seahawks on day three of the draft. Rypien is a leftover from a year ago, and Brosmer arrived on the same day as Howell, but he was an undrafted rookie and signed after the draft.
O’Connell added, “I just view it right now as we got to learn about these guys. We’ve got to try and see who’s able to go in there and function, and execute the offense. I am well aware sometimes the circumstances aren’t perfect. They’re not throwing the ball to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison and T.J. (Hockenson) and playing behind our first offensive line. You take into account, but you’re looking for the traits out of those three guys.”
What we learned was that Howell is capable of making bad decisions. He led the league in interceptions and sacks in his year as a starter in Washington and put on display why. Trying to escape a sack under heavy pressure, Howell should’ve eaten the sack, but instead he scrambled to his left and launched the ball up into the air, presumably trying to toss it out of bounds. Unfortunately, he got hit during the throw, and the ball landed right in the hands of a defender.
Furthermore, the other plays didn’t convince anyone either. His final stat line showed only one of five passes completed for 13 yards, zero touchdowns, and one pick. In all fairness to him, he competed against many of New England’s starters while throwing to backups behind a backup offensive line without a running game. None of that helped him succeed.
Still, backups need to be smart, and punts aren’t the worst thing in the world.
Someone who has been leading various drives that ended in punts is Rypien. Neither of his two performances was impressive, but he completed seven of 11 passes for 83 yards in his second game. Rypien is the oldest player in that room and is playing like it. He’s a smart veteran and he knows getting the ball out in time is better than taking a sack (or throwing a panic interception). O’Connell said he “did some good things.”
That brings us to the third backup. Mr. Brosmer, alumnus of the University of Minnesota, once again showed that he can play on time, his throws are accurate, and he makes good decisions in the pocket.
O’Connell was praising his rookie passer: “Max Brosmer is not waiting to see if the WR is open. He is throwing some of these balls before the WR breaks. He has command of the offense.”
That’s pretty much the ultimate praise from a former quarterback. There was no downplaying, suggesting he was competing against guys who won’t be in the league in a couple of weeks, or comments like “it’s just one game.”
No, Brosmer has turned enough heads throughout his time with the Vikings that he’s taken seriously. He went 15 of 27 for 156 yards and a last-second interception, one play away from leading an impressive touchdown drive to end the game. With neither of the other two playing great football, it might be time to see what the rookie could do with the second team offense.
O’Connell added, “What I love about Max is there were some breakdowns up front, and maybe he couldn’t progress and read through concepts. But he plays with very fast eyes and very rarely puts the ball in harm’s way when he’s doing it, which is a unique trait. That dagger throw to Jeshaun, I mean, that’s about as stacked against you as it can be — and he throws that well, well before that pattern had declared. Just things like that that he’s done and shows consistently is why he’s getting the reps that he is.”
That dagger throw is going viral. Brosmer absolutely nailed that pass.
The three quarterbacks have one more preseason game on the docket. Next weekend, the operation heads to Tennessee to face the Titans, and it might be the right time to shuffle that quarterback rotation.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.