It is highly possible that Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy will miss his team’s Week 13 game against the Seattle Seahawks, which is the latest setback for the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
McCarthy missed his entire rookie year with a knee injury. He started two games in 2025 before a high-ankle sprain cost him the next five contests. The 22-year-old QB is 1-3 since returning to the starting lineup and has struggled as much as, or more than, any regular starter across the league in the past month.
Minnesota placed McCarthy in concussion protocol on Monday, one day after he threw for 87 yards and two interceptions in a 23-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers that all but dashed the Vikings’ playoff hopes.
There is no real competition for McCarthy’s starting job in Minneapolis, save for undrafted rookie Max Brosmer. However, if Brosmer plays well, Minnesota could slow play McCarthy’s return — just as several analysts speculated the team did after his ankle sprain in favor of backup Carson Wentz.
“If Max Brosmer, whom the coaches really like, plays well, then this could get even more complicated,” Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated wrote Tuesday. “Maybe [head coach Kevin O’Connell] sees McCarthy’s confidence waning and sticks with Brosmer for a while. Maybe he thinks the best thing to restore McCarthy’s confidence is to get him back on the field ASAP.”
JJ McCarthy Still in Driver’s Seat for QB1 Job With Vikings, But Perhaps Not For Long
GettyMinnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy.
The implications for McCarthy could also be longterm. The franchise let Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones leave in free agency, took a swing on Sam Howell as the backup initially and ended up bringing in Wentz just days before the regular season began.
Breer offered educated speculation that Minnesota is unlikely to enter the 2026 campaign without a legitimate Plan B should McCarthy prove he’s not a starting-caliber quarterback in the professional ranks.
“If the past few years have shown us anything, it’s that teams have to be careful about giving up on a talented young quarterback too quickly,” Breer continued. “I don’t think the Vikings are going to do that yet. I also wouldn’t expect them to go forward without reinforcements if this doesn’t resolve itself by the end of the year.”
Breer made clear that O’Connell is going to “do right” by McCarthy, who has started just six NFL games, meaning that McCarthy is probably going to get the starting job back at some point this season. But the amount of leeway the coaching staff will afford the young QB is lessening with every loss, and a poor — or even mediocre — finish to this season coupled with difficulties early next year may well lead McCarthy to the bench regardless of his health status.
Vikings Have Handful of Options to Add to QB Room in 2026
GettyIndianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson.
The best news for McCarthy is that the Vikings are currently projected to enter next spring $36 million in the red with regards to the salary cap. That means tough roster decisions, likely meaningful personnel cuts and multiple needs in free agency and the draft.
If Minnesota can’t spend big on a free-agent QB and needs to utilize its top draft assets to fill other positions that are either bigger question marks than quarterback or straight up have no signed answers come March, then the level of player the Vikings can acquire to compete with McCarthy is likely to be lower.
Beyond that, there aren’t a great deal of legitimate starters at the QB position hitting free agency in 2026. Jones is probably the best/will command the most money, but the Indianapolis Colts have tipped their hand and are likely to bring him back after trading two first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 for cornerback Sauce Gardner.
The most likely scenario is probably that Minnesota looks for a veteran like it did with Wentz. Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Flacco will be a free agent, though he also turns 41 years old in January but has put up big numbers in an offense with high-level pass-catchers. Kenny Pickett, a former first-round pick and current reserve with the Las Vegas Raiders, might prove the type of reclamation project that O’Connell has had success with before.
However, if the Vikings want to take a shot on a player who they can potentially develop into a franchise QB, a trade with the Colts for Anthony Richardson would make sense, as he heads into the final year of his rookie contract next season.
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