Carson Wentz, the Vikings’ starting quarterback for the last five games, is undergoing surgery on his left shoulder and will miss the remainder of the 2025 season. Back in Week 5 in London, Wentz reportedly suffered a dislocation that tore his labrum and fractured the socket, but he impressively toughed it out for two more games while J.J. McCarthy got healthy.
With Wentz landing on season-ending IR, the Vikings will need to add a third quarterback. Right now, McCarthy — who returns to the starting role this week — and rookie Max Brosmer are the only QBs on the roster. They don’t have one on the practice squad.
The question is whether they’ll look to add a veteran QB2 in order to keep Brosmer as the QB3, or if Brosmer remains the backup and they add someone to serve as the new emergency third option. Personally, I think the latter option is the way to go. The Vikings probably aren’t going to the playoffs this year, so if McCarthy gets hurt again or otherwise has to come off the field, they might as well see what Brosmer can do. It wouldn’t make much sense to acquire a big-name backup like Kirk Cousins or Jameis Winston or Russell Wilson within the current context of Minnesota’s season.
If the Vikings do go the QB3 route, here are three names who fit.
Ridder was just with the Vikings earlier this season. They signed him on Sept. 16, after McCarthy initially got hurt, and then waived him on Oct. 4. He hasn’t signed with anyone else, so he’s available if the Vikings come calling to bring him back. Ridder, 26, was drafted by the Falcons in the third round in 2022. He started 17 games for Atlanta over his first two seasons, then spent last season with the Raiders. He’d be a logical addition as someone who could provide depth in the Vikings’ QB room but probably wouldn’t supplant Brosmer as the backup.
In a similar vein, the Vikings could bring back Rypien, who was with them for a full calendar year between roster cuts in 2024 and 2025. He knows their offense well, which makes him a sensible QB3 candidate. He’s currently on the Colts’ practice squad, so Rypien would have to be poached to the Vikings’ active roster. He landed with the Bengals after being released by the Vikings in late August, then recently found a home with Indianapolis after Cincinnati cut him. Rypien, 29, started four games for the Broncos and Rams between 2020 and ’23.
The Vikings could also look externally for a QB3 option. The issue there is that the complexity of their system makes it difficult for a quarterback to come in, learn everything quickly, and provide value in that role. Thus, it makes sense to narrow the focus to players who have been in at least some kind of similar offense in the past. One such option might be Beathard, the former Iowa QB and third-round pick who started 12 games for Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers from 2017-20. He spent most of 2021-24 with the Jaguars.
The other angle here? For the last two months, Beathard has been on the practice squad of the Detroit Lions, who the Vikings play this week. If they were to poach him to their active roster, he could potentially provide some intel ahead of Sunday’s rivalry game.
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