J.J. McCarthy injury will save Vikings from embarrassment in more ways than one

The Minnesota Vikings are facing a tough yet necessary decision as their season looks to be coming to a premature end. At 4-7 with six weeks left, a playoff push looks incredibly unlikely and recent injury news on young quarterback J.J. McCarthy only cements that outlook.

McCarthy reported having concussion-like symptoms while on the team plane back to Minneapolis after the Vikings' 23-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 12. He's unlikely to play on Sunday as the team travels to face the Seattle Seahawks which means rookie third-stringer Max Brosmer is in line to get his first career start with backup Carson Wentz out for the year.

Vikings could be gifted some grace if Max Brosmer starts

This could actually be a blessing in disguise for Minnesota. McCarthy has really struggled in what has been his de factor rookie campaign after missing all of 2024 with a meniscus tear. He's played just six games so far and totaled a disappointing 929 passing yards, six touchdowns and 10 interceptions. But he hasn't lost the faith of his teammates quite yet.

"It's early," wide receiver Justin Jefferson told reporters after practice Wednesday. "He's new to the game. He's new to the NFL. He's learning just like everyone else has to learn as a rookie, and he obviously had to go through the mental stage of having to overcome an injury the first year. So just a tough transition for him. But I feel like just him learning these past couple games, and of course learning [during] the stretch of this season, I feel like he's going to bounce back in a different way than everybody else is going to think so."

If McCarthy does have to sit out Week 13, head coach Kevin O'Connell and general manager Kwemi Adofo-Mensah will get an opportunity to see their break-glass-in-case-of-emergency QB in action.

Max Brosmer could be J.J. McCarthy and Minnesota's Tommy DeVito-like savior

Brosmer, an undrafted signing out of the next door University of Minnesota, didn't get a lot of attention in college due to his spending four years at New Hampshire before transferring to PJ Fleck's program in 2024.

His 2,617 passing yards and 17 touchdowns were a modest production, but he put up a career-best 66.8 completion percentage as he led the Golden Gophers to a 7-5 campaign in the Big Ten. He impressed O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah during the Vikings' preseason, which has now led to this opportunity to potentially earn a greater role in the team's future plans.

“He’s definitely a good QB. To be able to fit in with this offense, and create a spark for us, that's something that we really need right now," Jefferson praised Brosmer on Wednesday.

Some NFL fans may remember the impact former New York Giants third-stringer Tommy DeVito had when the team lost both Daniel Jones and Drew Lock in 2023. I'm not trying to get ahead of anything and declare Brosmer a QB capable of rattling off three straight wins for the Vikings and get them back in the playoff race. But wouldn't that be some plot twist the NFL writers would save for the home stretch.

J.J. McCarthy's concussion will save him and Minnesota from embarrassment at the hands of their ex-QB

McCarthy's injury designation couldn't have come at a better time for him and Minnesota. Traveling to Seattle means they'll be facing their 2024 starting QB Sam Darnold whom the team let walk away in favor of the 22-year-old from Michigan.

So far, that appears to have been a shallow and misinformed decision. Darnold currently has the sixth-most passing yards in the league (2,795) and the fifth-most touchdowns (19). The Seahawks are 8-3 with the NFC West crown within reach and a playoff spot all but guaranteed.

It's not like Darnold has found a resurgence in his career after departing the Vikings. He put up a career-best season in Minneapolis and the Vikings still thought McCarthy was the way forward. To rub salt in the wound, Darnold's backup - Daniel Jones - is leading the Indianapolis Colts back to the playoffs and their first division crown since the Andrew Luck era. Minnesota could've had one if not both on their roster this season.

Could you imagine if McCarthy was marched out there in the deafening noise of the 12th Man only to be out-classed by Darnold? That would essentially put the final nail in the coffin on the debate over whether he is truly the future of the franchise or Minnesota made two huge mistakes.

At any rate, good luck to Brosmer out there. He may be the sacrificial lamb in all this but if he's got nothing to lose that may make him all the more dangerous and be the best kind of environment for him to prove himself.