Go get 'em, Max

[StickierBuns]

Can't help but be extremely happy for the young man. 1st NFL start. An UDFA. Great kid, I'm sure his whole family, friends and the University of Minnesota is beyond stoked for him later today. Former coaches that saw his potential, how smart he is, what a hard worker, etc. Lots of pride in his circles and rightly so. I think he's the first University of Minnesota QB grad to start a NFL game? I know he loves the university and vice versa. 

I wish he had the table set a bit better for his first start, but that's how it goes. Tough sledding for sure on the road in Seattle. Uncle Sammy is going to want to lay it to the Vikings. Might get ugly, but I think this season is in tatters anyway. Anyway, good on ya Maxie for getting to The Show....best of luck. 

[ArizonaViking]

I share the same sentiments...Good luck to you Max. One game at a time, even though we only got 6 games remaining. Let's make the best of it.

[MaroonBells]

Can't help but be extremely happy for the young man. 1st NFL start. An UDFA. Great kid, I'm sure his whole family, friends and the University of Minnesota is beyond stoked for him later today. Former coaches that saw his potential, how smart he is, what a hard worker, etc. Lots of pride in his circles and rightly so. I think he's the first University of Minnesota QB grad to start a NFL game? I know he loves the university and vice versa. 

I wish he had the table set a bit better for his first start, but that's how it goes. Tough sledding for sure on the road in Seattle. Uncle Sammy is going to want to lay it to the Vikings. Might get ugly, but I think this season is in tatters anyway. Anyway, good on ya Maxie for getting to The Show....best of luck. 

Can this be true? It might be. I looked up QBs drafted from the U of Minn and found only two no names from 1977 and 1958.

[pattersaur]

I'm struggling to feel anything beyond, "meh". Hopefully Max can show something early and rally the team and this fan!

[StickierBuns]

I'm struggling to feel anything beyond, "meh". Hopefully Max can show something early and rally the team and this fan!

For me, its not about high hopes for a win, I don't expect that at all. AT ALL. But what an exciting and wonderful experience for Brosmer and his family. He's going to be pinching himself when he walks from the locker room into the stadium. Pretty damn cool.

[hogjowlsjohnny]

Great opportunity for Max. Unfortunately he is going into a hostile loud stadium, against a top 5 defense, with a wounded offensive line, and no experience; what could go wrong? At this point I just hope he doesn't get injured and comes out of the game with his confidence intact.
Even if he does well, the game will likely be lost by the defenses inability to stop the run or cover anyone on the back end.
Hopefully Max will have enough good plays to give us a little hope.

[purplefaithful]

I really wish he had an intact OL today...

I think his floor is higher than McCarthy's right now, I expect he'll look better today because of that.

He looks like a Buccaneer lol!
================================

Neal: Welcome to the show, Max Brosmer
Although J.J. McCarthy is the former national champion who became a first-round pick, undrafted rookie Max Brosmer can make his case Sunday in Seattle.


Next up: MB12..

Max Brosmer — the former New Hampshire Wildcat, former Minnesota Golden Gopher, the undrafted free agent and unexpected backup — will ascend to QB1 when he starts against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

And I hope it’s the first of multiple starts by him before the season is over.

I’m not anointing Brosmer as the new quarterback of the future over J.J. McCarthy.

McCarthy, whose placement in concussion protocol created this opportunity for Brosmer, still deserves that title. The poor guy might be in the middle of a lost season, as a high ankle sprain and a concussion mixed in with stretches of miserable quarterback play have made the Vikings’ decision to put the ball in his hands following a 14-win season highly questionable.

When McCarthy recovers, he needs his reps.

But the Vikings owe it to themselves to give Brosmer some reps as well.

After all, there’s no one else to blame other than them for putting the position in such a perilous state. Everything must be on the table to bring competency to the quarterback role in 2026.

McCarthy’s awful performance has created this opening.

Even with Brosmer having thrown just eight NFL passes, he deserves a timeshare with McCarthy over the remaining six games.

Here are a few reasons why:

No postseason
At 4-7, the Vikings have less than 1% chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Even if they miraculously won their remaining six games, a 10-7 record doesn’t guarantee them a berth. Seattle went 10-7 last season and missed the postseason, for instance. And the NFC is top-heavy once again, as the 7-5 Lions would not be in the bracket if the playoffs were held today.

With that not being realistic, it is time for the Vikings to give Brosmer and McCarthy opportunities to develop.

Brosmer should have gotten more playing time on Oct. 23 against the Chargers, but we were forced to watch Carson Wentz’s imitation of William Wallace in “Braveheart” as he tried to play with a significant shoulder injury. Brosmer didn’t enter the game until the final series of a 37-10 drubbing.

And Brosmer couldn’t have drawn a more challenging assignment: In one of the NFL’s more hostile environments in Seattle and against one of the better defenses.

“There’s going to be ups and downs,” Brosmer said on Friday, “but it’s about mental resiliency for the game.”

Evaluate through games
The Vikings have spoken highly of how Brosmer has prepared and carried himself during his rookie season. And head coach Kevin O’Connell has noticed growth from the first time Brosmer walked through the doors at the TCO Performance Center.

“This has been something that really dates back to, you know, training camp and just watching the way he was able to efficiently run our offense, no matter who he was in the huddle with,” O’Connell said Friday, “and I think our veteran guys, the guys in that first huddle, have seen it over and over again.

“But then to have him command the huddle the way he did this week, not sure ball hit the ground today, just with the efficiency at which we were operating and throwing and guys were flying around.

“So I think there’s confidence in Max.”

The same optimism has been expressed about McCarthy based on how he practiced. It’s been another thing when he stepped on the field against another team. Let’s get Brosmer on the field to see how he processes situations at game speed and faces opposing defenses.

Players have been complimentary when asked about Brosmer, as if they also want to see what he can do.

Capable quarterbacks come from different backgrounds

McCarthy was the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft, and first-round picks generally are given a long leash to prove themselves.
But Tony Romo and Kurt Warner were undrafted free agents. Folks in my age range will remember Dave Krieg, Erik Kramer and Jake Delhomme — also undrafted free agents.

Good, and sometimes great, quarterbacks fall through the cracks, and Brosmer has a chance to prove he is one of them. He sounded confident and prepared on Friday when he met with reporters. All eyes — especially those from Gophers Nation — will be on him Sunday.

Hopefully, McCarthy recovers from his concussion and can play in some of the remaining games. But I would like to see Brosmer get another start after facing a challenging Seahawks defense.

Before the Vikings determine which veteran signal caller they will throw into the battle for 2026, they should use McCarthy and Brosmer the rest of this season.

Strib

[Montana Tom]

The way that things fell at QB for the Vikings in the last 12 months (having had an oversupply of qualified individuals in the QB room with Darnold, Danny Dimes, JJM), to where the cupboard is nearly bare, is nothing less than astounding.

I wasn't able to watch much of his work for the Gophers, but I look at the stat sheet, his passing records (#1 in history...completions in a single season in Minnesota), his body of work for New Hampshire, and his many awards from High School on...I don't think this 24 year old is going to be shell shocked in Seattle today.

In fact, the only thing that will surprise me is if he stinks as bad as JJM so far this season.

May he join Kurt Warner and Tony Romo as UDFA's with at least one Super Bowl ring as starting QB (not backup).

[pattersaur]

The way that things fell at QB for the Vikings in the last 12 months (having had an oversupply of qualified individuals in the QB room with Darnold, Danny Dimes, JJM), to where the cupboard is nearly bare, is nothing less than astounding.

I wasn't able to watch much of his work for the Gophers, but I look at the stat sheet, his passing records (#1 in history...completions in a single season in Minnesota), his body of work for New Hampshire, and his many awards from High School on...I don't think this 24 year old is going to be shell shocked in Seattle today. 

In fact, the only thing that will surprise me is if he stinks as bad as JJM so far this season. 

May he join Kurt Warner and Tony Romo as UDFA's with at least one Super Bowl ring as starting QB (not backup).

I always liked Romo. Pretty sure he never won anything though.

On the turnaround from full stock to empty cupboard— Yeah, it’s brutal when framed this way. Ugh!

[Zanary]

Here's hoping that he creates an underdog, local boy story that dwarfs the Purdy situation. If he's as mentally quick as we're told, and he keeps showing poise/touch that we've been lacking...well, let's just say that it'd be a needed ray of sunshine in a dark season. With all due respect to JJM, I want my team's best QB and players on the field, always.

If it's Max, it's Max, and McCarthy can work on fixing what's broken from the bench.