The Carson Wentz Injury Update Nobody Wanted Is Here
For half a decade with Kirk Cousins, the Vikings barely had any injury news to monitor at the quarterback position. Since his Achilles injury in 2023, however, that completely flipped. Nick Mullens had a back issue in the same season, and Jaren Hall suffered from a concussion. Last year, J.J. McCarthy was hurt all year, and this season, the young project has missed time once again.
The Carson Wentz Injury Update Nobody Wanted Is Here
His backup Carson Wentz stepped in for five games. McCarthy is expected to return on Sunday. It turns out he has to return because Wentz’s shoulder injury is worse than we thought.
The passer has dealt with a shoulder injury since the second leg of the overseas trip, the game in which he led the game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter over the Cleveland Browns. Since then, for nearly a month, he has fought the pain and played another two games.
On Monday, the Vikings announced that he has been placed on IR. The club wrote on its website, “It will never be said that Carson Wentz didn’t give everything he had for the 2025 Minnesota Vikings. After starting five consecutive games and enduring considerable pain in his left, non-throwing shoulder for more than half of the contests, Wentz has been placed on Injured Reserve.”
Wentz has started games for six different franchises in the last six seasons. With the Vikings, his childhood team, Wentz managed to win two of his five starts.
Vikings.com’s Craig Peters added, “Determined and relentless, he wore extra bracing on his shoulder (that he had never worn before). Prime Video cameras showed Wentz wincing in pain after multiple plays. Wentz was sacked five times, and press box statisticians tallied eight quarterback hits by the Chargers. L.A. sent rushers from multiple directions and capitalized on Minnesota being without right tackle Brian O’Neill, as well as missing left tackle Christian Darrisaw for all but nine snaps and tight end Josh Oliver for all but eight. Despite the adversity, Wentz kept telling Head Coach Kevin O’Connell that he wanted to stay in the game.”
It’s fair to be unimpressed by his on-field performance, but nobody can question the backup’s toughness moving forward. He’s certainly earned the respect of Vikings fans on Thursday, and the eyes of the whole country were watching him stay in the game, perhaps way beyond what should’ve been the case.
National reporter Tom Pelissero noted that Wentz would undergo surgery to fix the shoulder: “Vikings QB Carson Wentz will undergo surgery on his left shoulder and miss the rest of the 2025 season, sources tell The Insiders. Wentz gutted it out as long as he could. But he was in severe pain Thursday night in L.A. and now will get the shoulder fixed.”
Ian Rapoport shed some light on the injury, “Details on Carson Wentz: In the first half of the London game, Wentz suffered a dislocation that tore his labrum and fractured the socket, per The Insiders. He gutted out 2.5 more games for the #Vikings with a big stabilizing brace, while JJ McCarthy (high-ankle) recovered.”
With McCarthy expected to return as the starter, the Vikings will have only the sophomore and undrafted rookie Max Brosmer on the roster. There’s no signal-caller on the practice squad, though the front office will undoubtedly add someone.
Brosmer replaced Wentz late in Thursday’s fourth quarter.
Wentz has a one-year contract. If this is it for him in the Twin Cities, he will leave the franchise in March with five starts, 1,216 passing yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions.
The veteran will turn 33 in December.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.