The Minnesota Vikings have had to rely on backup quarterback, Carson Wentz, to lead the franchise over the past five weeks, after starter, JJ McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain in week 2’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The former second overall pick a little under a decade ago will start again this evening against the Los Angeles Chargers, with McCarthy taking the emergency third quarterback role for the second week straight.
With McCarthy once again active on game-day but not serving as the starter – or even the backup – questions have started to brew about how the coaching staff really feels about the opportunity that their former first round pick gives them to win right now.
But according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the team definitely plan to bring McCarthy back to the starting lineup when he is fully healthy, in spite of Wentz’s strong performances over the past month.
Minnsota Vikings Wanted JJ McCarthy To Play On Thursday
Indeed, Breer explains that the team ideally wanted the former national champion to start on Thursday, but McCarthy did not feel at 100% health during practice.
“The hope was that everyone would walk away with McCarthy ready to roll on a short week against the Chargers.” Breer wrote on Thursday. “After going through the paces, McCarthy told the staff that the high ankle sprain that he sustained in Week 2 against the Falcons wasnât quite all the way back yet. And the staff decided to err on the side of caution and hold McCarthy out one more week, giving him 10 days of runway to prepare for a titanic Week 9 game against the Lions on Nov. 2 at Ford Field.”
“The expectation is that the extra rest will have McCarthy ready for the Vikingsâ game against Detroit. Assuming he is prepared, the plan is to start him. And the hope is that, by waiting, theyâll get a quarterback going out there with a head of steam and, more important, filled with confidence.”
Vikings Set To Move Onto McCarthy When Fully Healthy
Wentz has gone 2-2 as a starter in 2025, and has shown play almost nearing the level he showed during his prime years in Philadelphia from 2017-2019, throwing for 1,072 yards, 5 touchdowns and 4 in picks with a 66.9% completion rate and a total quarterback rating of 89.3.
Although those numbers hardly blow anyone out of the water, they are both well above average for your standard NFL second-stringer, and far superior to the kind of production JJ McCarthy was putting up over the first two games of the season, which were also his first two career starts.
Head coach, Kevin O’Connell, and co. do want to be patient with their young signal caller, and know that losing faith in a player that has had just two career starts is not the kind of behaviour exhibited in high-level football organizations.
Especially if McCarthy’s relegation were to be in favor of a player like Wentz, who has exhibited exceptionally volatile play over the course of his career in the NFL.
Perhaps McCarthy might benefit from another year redshirting and taking in the game, but at this point, Minnesota will want to know what kind of player they are working with for the foreseeable future.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Vikings Reveal Quarterback Plan For Week 9 After TNF – Report appeared first on Heavy Sports.