It’s (Probably) Max Brosmer Time in the Twin Cities
The Minnesota Vikings just can’t get any consistency at the quarterback position. Not only has the play been poor throughout the season, but neither starter J.J. McCarthy nor backup Carson Wentz managed to stay healthy. For the second time this season and the third time in his two-year career, McCarthy picked up an injury that could sideline him.
It’s (Probably) Max Brosmer Time in the Twin Cities
On Monday, the day after the loss across the state border, Minnesota’s head coach Kevin O’Connell told the media that McCarthy had landed in the concussion protocol after reporting symptoms.
Of course, there’s a chance the sophomore will clear the protocol in time for Sunday’s reunion with Sam Darnold, but most players miss the following game once they are in the protocol.
If he can’t go, the Vikings would turn to rookie Max Brosmer, who’s been McCarthy’s top backup for about a month. Wentz is on IR with his shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery and Brosmer got the full-time QB2 job when the Vikings declined to trade for (or sign) another veteran quarterback besides practice-squad passer John Wolford.
O’Connell suggested that it’s too early to tell whether McCarthy will be available on Sunday. He added that Brosmer will take the first-team reps until he’s back.
And then he made sure to voice his confidence in the young signal-caller.
“A ton of confidence in Max. All he’s done since he’s been here is show up every single day and respond and answer the bell, whether it’s stepping in for some reps when guys were dinged up previously this year with the first group. Or if you look at it from a standpoint of what his absorption of the offense was throughout his first day here all the way through training camp, playing in some of those games, playing against the Titans’ first-team unit in that preseason game defensively and moving the team and getting the ball out and seeing things at a veteran-level type of eye progression.”
Brosmer had a pre-draft workout with the Vikings and signed with the team immediately after going undrafted. The young QB spent his first five college campaigns at New Hampshire (they only played one game in 2020, and he missed 2021 because of a torn ACL). Last year, he captained the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In 36 collegiate games, he passed for 8,713 yards and 70 touchdowns.
More from O’Connell:
“I think we all have a lot of confidence in Max. Ideally, you’d love to have a bunch of runway for him to continue on his journey, but I know Max will prepare like crazy, like he does every week. He’s been a snap away here since Carson went on IR. And I know he feels very much prepared if called upon. He’s gonna go about the week as he’s been doing, which is important for a guy that is one snap away as a young player. How many reps can we steal pre-practice, post-practice; he does all the little things to try to get himself ready if he were to be called upon. That may be indeed this week. We don’t know yet, but we’ve gotta prepare our team for sure.”
His NFL experience has been limited to fourth-quarter mop-up duties and a kneel-down in London. In four games, Brosmer has collected eight passing attempts. Five of those were completed for 42 yards. We don’t have enough sample size to make any proclamations.
In the preseason, however, he showed why the Vikings liked him and ultimately kept him on the roster over veteran Brett Rypien.
He went 35 of 58 for 364 yards, a couple of touchdowns, and one interception. His decision-making and accuracy were pretty impressive, and he showed the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, something McCarthy has struggled with. It’s important to note that he doesn’t possess McCarthy’s physical tools.
Still, his football smarts could give him a shot at a long NFL career. Probably as a backup, but on Sunday, unless his teammate is ready to go, he’ll get the opportunity to show that he’s more than that. And one thing is clear: McCarthy’s struggles have opened the door for the backup to make things pretty complicated.
Nobody thought Brock Purdy could be The Guy in San Francisco, but he showed enough and is still starting three years later with a huge contract in his pocket. That’s a long-shot scenario, but it’s not impossible.
Brosmer, 24, is in line to be the eighth starting quarterback in the Kevin O’Connell era.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.