The Vikings lost their second straight game on Thursday night, 37–10 at the hands of the Chargers. And even though quarterback Carson Wentz entered the week nursing an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, Minnesota, citing J.J. McCarthy’s own limited health, opted to start Wentz. Wentz appeared to aggravate his injury in the first half and seemed to be in visible discomfort throughout much of the game, as he could be seen grimacing in pain amidst the beating he took—five sacks and eight quarterback hits—from the Chargers defense.
That was the question on seemingly everyone’s mind as they watched Wentz and the Vikings offense struggle to the tune of 164 total yards, just 11 first downs and 17 points. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell provided the answer after the game.
“We kept on checking in [with Wentz],” O’Connell told reporters. “Maybe getting Max [Brosmer] ready to go. Tyler [vice president of player health and performance, Tyler Williams] was coming to me a lot tonight, but every time he seemed to update me on that. Carson was sore going into it. He took obviously quite a few hits—but he was able to—I asked him multiple times where he was at and he said he was good and wanted to keep going.
“It did seem like he was in pain there a couple times.”
Wentz, who at one point showed frustration with how the night played out when Prime Video cameras caught him slamming his helmet on the sideline, was adamant that his play was not affected by the injury.
“I don’t think so,” Wentz said. “I don’t think throwing wise. That’s honestly why I felt confident to go. I felt I could do my job. I thought I could throw the ball. Thankfully, you don’t need your left shoulder all that much to throw the football. So mechanically, throwing wise, I felt like I could do everything I needed to do.”
And Wentz, seemingly in lockstep with O’Connell, never felt he needed to exit the game.
Brosmer, an undrafted rookie, entered the game in the fourth quarter with the result all but decided. But did O’Connell consider making the switch from an injured Wentz to a healthy Brosmer earlier than he did?
“Yeah we did,” O’Connell said. “Carson’s a veteran player. He understands, kind of, some of our circumstances tonight. I think it’s very difficult to ask a rookie to go in there for his first performance and have to be kind of weathering it a little bit for the group.
“I did think about that at different times in the game but at the same time, the confidence we have in Max and the upside we see in Max is real. You also don’t want to send him out there and force a level of figure-it-outness that’s probably beyond a guy playing for the first time.”
“…If J.J.’s healthy, J.J. will play,” O’Connell told reporters.
McCarthy, the Vikings’ 2024 first-round pick, hasn’t played since Week 2 due to a high ankle sprain. But it would seem that he has a chance to return to the field in Week 9 against the Lions.
Minnesota, with some uncertainty under center, will look to snap a two-game losing streak against Detroit.
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