The Minnesota Vikings are headed to Seattle, where the eight-win Seahawks are a game back of the Los Angeles Rams in a competitive NFC West. The Seahawks are flying high in their first season quarterbacked by Sam Darnold, who signed a three-year, $100 million deal in free agency to replace Geno Smith.
Darnold inked that contract after reviving his career in Minnesota last season, during which he filled in for an injured J.J. McCarthy and led the Vikings back to the playoffs with a 14-3 record.
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Darnold’s old team is now turning to a 24-year-old undrafted rookie quarterback to start Sunday at the always-hostile Lumen Field.
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McCarthy, embattled in his second season in the league, hasn’t cleared protocol yet after suffering a concussion in an embarrassing loss to the Green Bay Packers last week. So the Vikings are rolling with Max Brosmer under center. Minnesota plans to elevate John Wolford as Brosmer’s backup Sunday, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported Friday.
“Pleased with where he’s at,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said of McCarthy Friday. “He’s progressing but just not able to clear the last few steps. Quite honestly, I have pretty strong feelings on just when guys do get a concussion and where they’re at in regards to the next week. Always want to leave it open to the doctors’ ultimate say and decision. And the protocol is in place for a reason.”
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Brosmer, who played four seasons at the University of New Hampshire and one more at Minnesota to wrap up his college career, didn’t hear his name called in this year’s NFL Draft. The Vikings signed him as an undrafted free agent, and he raised eyebrows in the preseason, completing 35-of-58 passes for 364 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
That three-outing run in August culminated in him operating the third-team Minnesota offense against the Tennessee Titans’ starting defense. Brosmer thrived that day in Tennessee and clocked out 15 of 23 with 161 yards and a touchdown through the air.
After making the team, Brosmer sat behind McCarthy and Carson Wentz. He became Wentz’s backup while McCarthy missed five games nursing a high ankle sprain. In relief of Wentz, Brosmer attempted passes in a blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3 and in a lopsided “Thursday Night Football” loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8. He went a combined 5 of 8 with 42 passing yards.
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But with Wentz out for the season with a shoulder injury, Brosmer moved into the No. 2 and now starting role, and the stakes are much higher.
“Max had a really good week of practice,” O’Connell said Friday. “His preparation started long before this week, with how he’s prepared being either a snap away or even throughout training camp and since he’s been here.
“I know the guys have a lot of confidence in him, and I’m very excited to see him play, based upon the work he’s put in and just how important I know this opportunity is to him. These guys are going to play great around him, and we’re going to go compete.”
Brosmer will be up against a Seahawks defense that’s seventh in the NFL this season in fewest points per game allowed (19.7) and tied for second in fewest yards per play given up (4.6).
Still, he has an opportunity to spark a talented Vikings offense that’s been stuck in neutral far too often this season.
“I made the comment that everyone’s an All-Pro when you’re not taking the reps,” Brosmer said, when asked about preparing for his first start in the league, per The Minnesota Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling.
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“It was a wake-up moment, getting back in the swing of things, and I felt like we handled it pretty well.”
