Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced that quarterback J.J. McCarthy had shown signs of a concussion after a Week 12 loss to the Green Bay Packers, putting the 22-year-old quarterback’s availability into question.
“[He] reported some kind of symptoms in regards to his head, and we wanted to get back here once we kind of heard he was evaluated last night,” O’Connell said of McCarthy on Monday, November 24. “After completing those tests, our training staff and doctors and medical team have decided that the right place for him is to put him in the protocol for now.”
While O’Connell has not ruled McCarthy out for Week 13 against the Seattle Seahawks, he revealed the contingency plan if McCarthy can’t go: starting undrafted rookie Max Brosmer.
“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,” O’Connell said, adding that Brosmer has seen the field and gone through his progressions at a “veteran level.”
Vikings Facing Potential Trey Lance-Brock Purdy Conundrum With JJ McCarthy, Max Brosmer
GettyMax Brosmer has an opportunity to make a name for himself approaching what could be his first career start in Week 13 of the 2025 season.
The dilemma the Vikings have faced in continuing to see McCarthy struggle as a young quarterback is having a ready-to-win roster in the backdrop that needs the quarterback to reach a certain floor of execution.
That has yet to happen this season, with McCarthy coming off his worst performance to date in a Week 12 loss to the Packers. McCarthy went 12 of 19 passes for 87 yards and threw two interceptions for a season-low 34.2 passer rating .
McCarthy’s struggles would warrant a potential benching if he weren’t just a 22-year-old getting his feet wet in the NFL .
However, his potential absence and Carson Wentz on injured reserve opens an opportunity for Brosmer — a similar situation the San Francisco 49ers saw play out with Brock Purdy .
In 2022, the 49ers opened the season hoping to see what they had in first-round pick Trey Lance . He suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2, thrusting Jimmy Garoppolo into the starting role.
However, Garoppolo went down with a season-ending foot fracture with five games left in the season, opening the door for Purdy.
Purdy led a loaded 49ers team to seven straight wins en route to the NFC championship game, which San Francisco lost to the Philadelphia Eagles .
However, the 49ers found their quarterback of the future — and it wasn’t the first-rounder that they traded a war chest of draft picks to acquire.
The Vikings’ season may not be salvageable at this point, but Brosmer could spark some serious conversations about the future of the quarterback position in Minnesota.
Vikings Told Max Brosmer to ‘Back Off’ During Training Camp, Insider Says
An interesting wrinkle in Brosmer’s potential first career start this week goes back to training camp.
Brosmer was turning heads and pushing to get better to the point that the Vikings coaching staff had to tell him to back off as their focus was on getting McCarthy ready for the season, according to Minnesota Star Tribune beat reporter Andrew Krammer.
He told me earlier in training camp, ‘I live here and coaches have to tell me to back off sometimes, like hey man, it’s gonna be alright,” Krammer said . “Well with JJ, I think they’re telling Max Brosmer to back off because they need more time with JJ. Max said, like, I have to understand I’m not the priority.”
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