The Vikings’ Date with Ex-QB Finally Comes Around
As soon as Sam Darnold signed with the Seattle Seahawks, the Week 13 matchup between the Vikings and Seahawks was always going to be a game full of intrigue.
The Minnesota Vikings’ date with their former quarterback has finally come around, setting up a matchup loaded with history, tension, and familiar storylines.
Minnesota decided not to heavily pursue Darnold to run it back after a 14-win season. Darnold’s role in the team’s poor playoff performance probably made that decision. The Vikings decided to move forward by giving their 2024 first-round pick, JJ McCarthy, a clear path to the QB1 job. In hindsight, it looks like a terrible decision by the organization.
Alas, It’s Time for Vikings to Face Sam Darnold
Darnold is thriving in Seattle while McCarthy is not in Minnesota. The Seahawks are 8-3 after beating the Tennessee Titans last week. Darnold bounced back with a solid game after throwing four interceptions against the Rams a week earlier — Sean McVay’s team seems to be Darnold’s kryptonite. While the Seahawks are very much in the playoff race, the Vikings aren’t.
With a 4-7 record and some tough-looking games on the schedule, nothing about Minnesota’s last three games suggests this is a team about to go on a run and gatecrash the playoffs. Darnold and McCarthy going head-to-head was set to create interesting optics, but that might not happen now.
It Could Be Mac Brosmer in Week 13
News broke on Monday that McCarthy had been put in concussion protocol after reporting symptoms on the flight home from Green Bay. Given the seriousness of concussions, it’s unusual for a player not to at least miss one game once entering the protocol. If that is the case, then Max Brosmer is the next man up.
The calls for Brosmer to replace McCarthy were growing anyway, with Pro Football Talk suggesting after the Packers game that the time was approaching for McCarthy to step out of the firing line and see what Brosmer can offer.
The decision could be made for the Vikings, who have consistently said they have confidence in their undrafted rookie quarterback. Kevin O’Connell wouldn’t be drawn on who he expects to play on Sunday this early in the week, but what he said regarding his confidence in Brosmer if he were to play was interesting: “He was moving the team, getting the ball out, seeing things at a veteran-level type of eye progression,” basically all the things McCarthy is struggling with.
Brosmer finished his college career in Minnesota and would have the backing of Vikings fans if he were given the opportunity. There were even chants of “we want Max” at the last Vikings home game. The rookie has gotten on the pitch for some garbage-time action on both winning (vs. Bengals) and losing (vs. Chargers) this season. He completed 5 of 8 passing attempts for 42 yards across those two outings.
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