The Minnesota Vikings have announced that Carson Wentz will start as quarterback in their upcoming game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Under fire Head coach Kevin O’Connell reaffirmed that choice, declaring they’d ride it out with Wentz at minimum for one additional game. This is one of the most important games of the season for the team, as they look to climb above .500.
Carson Wentz has risen to the occasion and propelled the Vikings to a 2-2 start to the season. He inherited the job from J.J. McCarthy, still out with a high right ankle sprain. McCarthy was the No. 10 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Vikings. For the second week in a row, he is prepared to be the emergency No. 3 quarterback. O’Connell expressed optimism about McCarthy’s recovery, noting that he is making progress.
On Tuesday morning, O’Connell and the Vikings’ medical staff tested McCarthy with an on-field workout before determining if he was indeed healthy. McCarthy already observes many encouraging signs, but he still faces a challenging path. After receiving three separate second opinions, his team announced Smith’s injury is expected to take no longer than six weeks to return. That would be his 22nd missed regular-season game out of 24 chances due to injury.
For now, Wentz is only interested in this coming week’s challenge from the Chargers. He stated, “My mindset is to go win this game,” emphasizing his commitment to the present rather than future considerations.
“and focus on the here and now. I don’t have a lot of time or energy to think beyond this one, quite frankly. So let the future take care of itself, but the mindset is to go 1-0 this week and find a way to get mentally and physically as ready as I can on a short week.” – Carson Wentz
O’Connell highlighted the importance of Wentz’s ability to navigate within the pocket, saying, “It’s some of the movements, the reactionary movements within the pocket. Being able to use his athleticism to protect himself in the pocket and then as he’s able to work through progressions.”
Minnesota has put a lot on the shoulders of Wentz during this transition period. How he performs will be very important as the team hopes to put forth a much better performance in their first home game against the Chargers.
Kevin Seifert, who has covered the NFL for over 20 years and joined ESPN in 2008, continues to provide comprehensive analysis on developments affecting teams like the Vikings. Before that, Seifert was a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times.
Leave a Reply