Kevin Seifert
EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings are sticking with quarterback Carson Wentz for not less than another sport, coach Kevin O'Connell stated Tuesday, citing a brief week of preparation earlier than Minnesota performs Thursday evening in Los Angeles towards the Chargers.
J.J. McCarthy will proceed his restoration from a excessive proper ankle sprain by serving because the Vikings' emergency No. 3 quarterback for the second consecutive week. Undrafted rookie Max Brosmer would be the backup behind Wentz.
In the meantime, the Vikings opened the 21-day observe window for working again Aaron Jones, who has been on injured reserve since injuring his hamstring in Week 2. O'Connell stated it was doable that Jones might be activated in time for Thursday evening's sport. Jordan Mason has taken over because the Vikings' major working again, with 380 yards and 4 touchdowns this season, however the Vikings have missed Jones significantly of their passing sport.
O'Connell and the Vikings' medical workforce put McCarthy by an on-field exercise Tuesday morning. O'Connell stated he needed get “readability” on whether or not McCarthy might be a candidate to play Thursday.
In the end, McCarthy was nonetheless restricted, and the Vikings imagine beginning him Thursday evening would danger reinjury. Assuming he is not referred to as into emergency obligation, McCarthy will miss his twenty second regular-season sport in 24 alternatives due to accidents because the Vikings chosen him with the No. 10 decide of the 2024 draft.
“We're all sort of inspired about the place he is at, and the progress he is making,” O'Connell stated. “However he is simply not there.”
The analysis might need been totally different had the Vikings been scheduled to play Sunday as a substitute of Thursday.
Requested what threshold he needs to see McCarthy attain earlier than clearing him to start out, O'Connell stated: “It is a number of the actions, the reactionary actions inside the pocket. With the ability to use his athleticism to guard himself within the pocket after which as he is capable of work by progressions.
“I really feel actually good concerning the work we have performed on the muse of his fundamentals,” he stated. “That is been fairly evident by the work that he is performed and actually his dedication to doing that. It is actually nearly, ‘Hey, there's possibly a man will get edged and I do not actually know the motion I will should make.' That is the place he nonetheless feels it and if he does not have the flexibility to do this pain-free, we clearly danger setting him again, which might be very, very unlucky with the time misplaced already.”
McCarthy stated final week that a number of second opinions advised the harm may take as much as six weeks to heal. That offers him an affordable probability of returning for the Vikings' subsequent sport, Nov. 2 on the Lions.
Wentz, who has led the Vikings to a 2-2 file since changing McCarthy, stated Tuesday that he's not fascinated about what may occur after this week.
“My mindset is to go win this sport,” Wentz stated, “and give attention to the right here and now. I haven't got a number of time or vitality to suppose past this one, fairly frankly. So let the longer term care for itself, however the mindset is to go 1-0 this week and discover a option to get mentally and bodily as prepared as I can on a brief week.”
