Vikings Make the QB Call
The Minnesota Vikings will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in their Week 7 contest. It’ll be a good test for the purple squad against the defending Super Bowl champions. The Eagles aren’t unbeatable, however, after dropping the last two games and now standing at 4-2.
Vikings Make the QB Call
The quarterback mystery has headlined Minnesota’s week. J.J. McCarthy is not 100% after his ankle sprain, while Carson Wentz is dealing with a non-throwing shoulder injury. He’s good to go, though.
On Friday, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced what most expected: It’ll be the Wentz show for at least one more game. He added that Max Brosmer will be the backup entering the game, while McCarthy will dress, but only as the emergency quarterback.
O’Connell said, “I thought [Carson] had a good week of practice, as well as J.J.,” O’Connell noted Friday. “I was really proud of the work [J.J.] put in, as he kind of continues to push through the later stages of this rehab. Feel good about him being available, but he will be the emergency third quarterback. We went into the last game with two (QBs) and didn’t quite feel like that was the smartest thing to do — and feel good about where he’d be at if he had to play in that third quarterback capacity. So Max [Brosmer] will back up Carson Wentz.”
In the London game against the Cleveland Browns, the Vikings had only Wentz and Brosmer available. McCarthy was sidelined, and for some reason, the team had released Desmond Ridder in the days leading up to the second overseas contest.
This time, there will be a third guy in the mix, and that will be McCarthy, the usual starter. The emergency quarterback is only permitted to enter the game if QB1 and QB2 are out with injuries. A performance-related change is not allowed. McCarthy was given a timeline of up to six weeks. Sunday’s game marks five weeks from his initial injury.
For Wentz, it will be the fourth start this season. The passer signed late in August, and a few weeks later, he was asked to serve as the offense’s captain. In his first start, the Vikings secured a blowout win, highlighted by Isaiah Rodgers’ heroics that left the Bengals without any chance.
A week later, the Pittsburgh Steelers were on the docket, in what was easily the passer’s worst performance of the season, despite throwing for 350 yards. He frequently ran into trouble and turned down some easy completions after panicking when his first reads weren’t there.
Some of those struggles carried over into the Week 5 game in London, but he finished with a strong fourth quarter, including the game-winning drive.
It’ll be a revenge game for Wentz, who was jettisoned by the Eagles half a decade ago. Philly shipped him to Indianapolis after benching him for Jalen Hurts. Since then, Wentz has been a journeyman with the Colts and Commanders as a starter, as well as stints with the Chiefs and Rams in backup duties.
The only starter along the offensive line he had for the entire Week 5 game was Will Fries at right guard. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw and left guard Donavan Jackson will play, while right tackle Brian O’Neill is questionable entering the weekend. At center, Blake Brandel will start.
Either way, the offensive line should be improved this week. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison will be available as the top weapons, and so will be T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Mason.
Wentz beating the team that once viewed him as a franchise quarterback would be quite the story.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.