The Athletic: Why the Viking's possible starter vs. Seattle has seemed inevitable

[StickierBuns]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6834625...hy-injury/

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p.s. somebody will have to copy and paste in the article. The latest this morning is that McCarthy is NOT expected to play Sunday. Max Brosmer: sacrificial lamb or savior?

[purplefaithful]

EAGAN, Minn. — The quote didn’t make headlines at the time. There was little reason it would.

Organized team activities over the summer are nothing to write home about. Positive comments about undrafted free-agent signings are typically confidence builders as much as anything else. But if you were paying attention, and if you were listening closely enough, what Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said months ago about quarterback Max Brosmer meant something.

“I think Max is as smart as any young player I’ve been around,” O’Connell said.

Had Brosmer, a 24-year-old rookie out of the University of Minnesota, struggled to transfer his knowledge of the Vikings’ complex system into practice, this praise would be less meaningful in hindsight. Brosmer was impressive, though. He threw the ball well during summer workouts. He operated the offense effectively in training camp. He was undaunted by preseason action, going 35 of 58 passing for 364 yards, two touchdowns and an interception over three games. O’Connell had enough confidence to play him with the third-team offense against the Tennessee Titans’ starters.

The coach’s review of how Brosmer handled the circumstances?

“Moving the team and getting the ball out,” O’Connell said. “He was seeing things at a veteran-level type of eye progression.”

Behind the scenes, the team’s reviews of his play and disposition were constantly rosy. It might seem easy to say this now, with Brosmer potentially set to start Sunday in Seattle, but this opportunity almost felt like an inevitability.

That this conversation is happening in Week 13 says everything you need to know about how 2025 has gone for the Vikings at quarterback. Sunday provided another dark chapter in what will almost certainly be remembered as a haunting book. On Monday, O’Connell informed reporters that young quarterback J.J. McCarthy reported concussion symptoms after the game.

The Vikings placed him in the concussion protocol and will monitor his progress throughout the week. And while O’Connell didn’t definitively name Brosmer the starter, it’s difficult to imagine a team that has already taken a conservative approach with McCarthy this season casually tossing him back out there.

Brosmer came close to playing meaningful snaps in early October. In London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, then-quarterback Carson Wentz left the game with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Wentz returned in the second half, limiting Brosmer’s snaps to one kneeldown.

Even then, there was a possibility that Brosmer could play a couple of weeks later against the Philadelphia Eagles. Wentz played through pain again that week. The Vikings rolled with him once more on the ensuing short week in Los Angeles. That night, once the Chargers generated too hefty a lead, the Vikings turned to Brosmer for six garbage-time snaps.

Minnesota could’ve added a veteran backup at the trade deadline. Current Atlanta Falcons starter Kirk Cousins was a candidate; he told confidants that he would be OK serving as McCarthy’s backup. But the Vikings decided to roll with their young quarterback room. This was an admission by the Vikings’ decision-makers that they desperately wanted to see what McCarthy was capable of this season. It was also a window into the faith they had in Brosmer’s ability to manage the stressors that come with being one snap away.

“He does all the little things to try to get himself ready if he were to be called upon,” O’Connell said Monday. “And that may indeed be this week. We don’t know yet. But we’ve got to prepare our team.”

Brosmer’s arc is unusual in that he’s been able to acclimate to various speeds of play. Playing at Centennial High School, north of Atlanta, offered one level. He first attended the University of New Hampshire, which required adjustments to accommodate the timing. Transferring to Minnesota educated him further on how quickly post-snap decisions must be made amid far more athletic competition.

His on-the-fly processing ability was part of what intrigued O’Connell two years ago when he attended the Golden Gophers’ pro day. Brosmer had not yet played for Minnesota. Being local allowed O’Connell to keep close tabs on Brosmer’s development, particularly over the back half of his final college season. It did not hurt that the Gophers — a school positioned fewer than 20 miles from the Vikings’ facility and one that has close ties to the pro franchise — had integrated many of the Vikings’ passing concepts into their offense.

Brosmer going undrafted allowed O’Connell to recruit him this spring. His arrival and impressions were paired with wildly bold impressions from scouts like Eric Galko, the director of football operations for the East-West Shrine Bowl and a longtime evaluator.

“I’ll stand by it,” Galko said in August. “I’ll be really surprised if Max does not start games in the NFL early. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Max is going to run the offense at a high level. He’s not going to miss throws he shouldn’t miss. He’s going to trust the offense.”

Brosmer eventually getting a chance seemed unavoidable, especially in recent weeks. It’s not that the Vikings were going to bench McCarthy, who has played at a historically poor level. It’s more the injury history and the number of hits he’s taken.

Holding on to the football too long affects the offense. It also increases the probability of hits. Violent climbs upward in the pocket make it harder to stay balanced. They also lead to situations like McCarthy’s hand hitting a defender’s helmet when following through.

On Sunday, in the fourth quarter, McCarthy couldn’t scan the field quickly enough to find tight end T.J. Hockenson for a checkdown. Rather than throwing the ball away, he opted to scramble. That’s when Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie pounded him into the grass. Neither Minnesota’s trainers nor the independent doctors flagged McCarthy, who lay motionless on the turf. But the film shows quarterbacks coach Josh McCown approaching the field and looking concerned before Hockenson lifts him up.

McCarthy could improve drastically the rest of this week, but the Vikings typically aren’t quick to bring players back from the concussion protocol. That would leave Brosmer in line to face a Seahawks defense coordinated by Mike Macdonald that makes things hard on the NFL’s best offenses.

Sink, and the Vikings won’t look a whole lot different. Swim, and there will be bigger questions worth asking.

Source: The Athletic

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Its the Vikings...Of course you have to throw QB controversy on the shitstorm fire.

Lets see what happens on Sunday and go from there!

I'll be rooting for Brosmer, hope he puts some great tape out there - for his sake and the locker rooms too.