J.J. McCarthy entered the NFL’s concussion protocol the prior week, following Sam Darnold’s departure from Minnesota to join Seattle earlier in the offseason.
The repercussions of these two player movements will directly shape Sunday’s game between the Vikings, now without Darnold, and the Seahawks, led by Darnold.
During consecutive plays in the fourth quarter against Green Bay last week, McCarthy’s head made forceful contact with the ground on two occasions — first when tackled by Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie, and subsequently on the following play when pursued and tackled by Green Bay defensive end Kingsley Enagbare.
McCarthy verbally reported his symptoms during the flight from Green Bay back to Minnesota and was then placed under concussion protocol, where he currently remains, according to sources familiar with the situation.
With McCarthy sidelined, the Vikings are set to start undrafted rookie quarterback Max Brosmer, who achieved prominence last season at the University of Minnesota.
The Vikings are now faced with precisely the type of difficult scenario they hoped to avoid during the previous offseason, as two of their quarterbacks — Darnold and Daniel Jones — were nearing free agency.
The Vikings attempted to re-sign Darnold, although their efforts were not as intensive as those of the Seahawks or Steelers. The Seahawks presented Darnold with a more lucrative contract, spanning a greater number of years, than Minnesota offered. Seattle’s proposal indicated a stronger desire and valuation of Darnold compared to Minnesota, resulting in the Seahawks acquiring their new starting quarterback just days after trading former starting quarterback Geno Smith to the Raiders.
Darnold — the son of a plumber and a teacher — has thrived in Seattle.
McCarthy, conversely, has navigated another season impacted by injuries — initially experiencing a high-ankle sprain in Week 2 that prevented him from playing until recently, and currently the concussion that will exclude him from at least Sunday’s game.
The Vikings will now rely on Brosmer, whom they have been observing since the previous year. He initially garnered the attention of Vikings personnel at the University of Minnesota’s pro day in March 2024, immediately after his transfer to the program from the University of New Hampshire. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah both attended the event and were favorably impressed.
Golden Gophers coach P.J. Fleck subsequently endorsed Brosmer to Adofo-Mensah, who advocated for the young quarterback to receive an invitation to the NFL scouting combine the prior February. Adofo-Mensah championed Brosmer’s cause despite the Vikings possessing only four selections in the 2025 draft, reducing their likelihood of drafting him.
At Minnesota’s 2025 pro day a few weeks later, the Vikings GM was overheard expressing that he “kind of wish(ed)” he had not advocated for Brosmer’s combine invitation “because then he’d really be our secret.”
Brosmer ultimately went undrafted, but the Vikings were the most proactive team in pursuing his signature. He will become the first quarterback to make his initial career start for an NFL team in the same state where he played college football since Joshua Dobbs, who played at the University of Tennessee and initiated his first start for the Titans in 2022.
Brosmer also attended the same high school as Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald — Centennial High School in Roswell, Georgia.
Thus, the Vikings lost Darnold but gained Brosmer — and now will have the opportunity to witness both quarterbacks compete against each other Sunday in Seattle.
