ESPN Puts Undrafted Vikings Rookie in Limelight
The Minnesota Vikings welcomed about 20 undrafted free agent rookies to the roster at the end of April, an impressive haul after choosing just five rookies in the draft.
One Vikings rookie might have a path to the active roster that most don’t foresee.
May is prime territory to pound the table for such unsung rookies, and ESPN did precisely that this week for the Vikings’ rookie quarterback, Max Brosmer of Minnesota Golden Gophers fame.
In fact, Kevin Seifert’s musings seem to hint at a possible QB3 job for the young passer.
QB Max Brosmer Could Make the Active Roster in September
Foremost, the ESPN article featured this title: “Did Vikings find long-term backup QB in UDFA Max Brosmer?”
Long-term backup quarterbacks don’t live on the practice squad for too long, nor are they released amid roster trimdowns late in a summer. Therefore, ESPN offered quite the endorsement for Brosmer.
Seifert wrote, “When he went undrafted, the Vikings swooped in with an offer that suggests they project him for a potential long-term role as a backup. Brosmer received $246,000 in fully guaranteed money to join a quarterback room that includes presumptive starter J.J. McCarthy, along with Sam Howell and Brett Rypien.”
“No. 4 quarterbacks don’t often generate much attention, but the Vikings’ fluid depth chart and Brosmer’s initial impression at last weekend’s rookie minicamp merit a close eye in the coming months.”
Howell is expected to win the QB2 job rather handily, with Rypien in line for QB3.
Seifert continued, “Because he went undrafted, Brosmer was able to select a team and coaching staff that has earned a reputation as one of the top developers of quarterbacks in the league. Of the five quarterbacks who spent time on the Vikings’ roster last season, three — McCarthy, Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones — could be NFL starters in 2025.”
“Brosmer’s six-year college career has left him with a football knowledge base that appealed to a team whose backups aren’t likely to get many training camp reps, as all eyes focus on McCarthy, the No. 10 pick of the 2024 draft. At 24, Brosmer is two years older and threw more than twice as many college passes as McCarthy.”
The article firmly put Brosmer in the UDFA limelight for the Vikings.
Brett Rypien in His Way
For a few offseason months, Rypien was actually the Vikings’ QB2. The Vikings said “no thanks” to countless backup passers like Gardner Minshew and Drew Lock, and Rypien just relaxed on the depth chart as the next man up behind McCarthy.
Then, on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Vikings swung a low-risk trade for Howell, and with the snap of two fingers, he became the QB2, demoting Rypien back to QB3.
Still, Vikings leaders spoke positively about Rypien from January to present, making Brosmer’s chance at an upset somewhat of a longshot.
The Practice Squad No Matter What
Based on Kevin O’Connell’s scouting report — you can read that in Seifert’s article linked above — the Vikings are indeed high on Brosmer. Unless folks are lying, he seems like a lock for the practice squad as his bottom floor.
The Vikings usually have one Brosmer-type quarterback on the practice squad, so it makes all the sense in the world that Minnesota signed him from undrafted free agency.
The next few months will determine if Brosmer has the juice to knock Rypien from the QB3 perch and if ESPN has the “long-term backup QB” angle on good authority.
PurplePTSD on Brosmer
PurplePTSD‘s Kyle Joudry recently sized up Brosmer, too.
He wrote, “Currently, the Vikings’ quarterback position is being led by J.J. McCarthy. The hesitance to publicly declare McCarthy the unquestioned QB1 has done little to extinguish the obvious: the No. 10 pick from the 2024 NFL Draft is moving ahead as the top arm. Behind the highly-drafted quarterback are Sam Howell and Brett Rypien. Rypien has been in town for close to a year.”
“In fact, adding him came at the cost of Jaren Hall, so there’s some legitimate enthusiasm about what the veteran journeyman offers. Regardless, Howell has more upside and is the favorite to jump into the QB2 job, a role that involves being a single snap away from needing to step into the spotlight.”
Brosmer was born in Iowa and moved to Georgia as a preteen.
Joudry added, “Max Brosmer, at best, is going to be the QB3 in 2025. Injuries can change the calculus — just go back to the Vikings’ 2023 season for an example — but that’s where things stand when everyone is operating at full health. Listed at 6’2″ and 225 pounds, Brosmer is coming off a season where he completed 66.5% of his passes for P.J. Fleck’s Golden Gophers. Necessary prerequisites to be a Kevin O’Connell quarterback involve being brainy and being accurate.”
“So, the completion percentage is notable enough, a reason to have some enthusiasm for Brosmer. Brosmer’s stats also included 2,828 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. In a lot of ways, those basic stats are reminiscent of McCarthy’s from college, but it would be unfair to insist that the two are operating on a similar level. McCarthy’s upside is much higher.”
Overall, it’s never a bad thing to employ “too many” decent quarterbacks. And if O’Connell likes Brosmer, well, he’s probably not wrong about his upside.
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