The Minnesota Vikings took a risk by going all-in with J.J. McCarthy as the starting quarterback, especially after letting Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones leave in free agency.
But after the first two games, McCarthy was sidelined with a high ankle sprain. The Vikings brought in Carson Wentz to fill in for McCarthy, and he helped lead the Vikings to two victories in five starts. But his third loss came against the Los Angeles Chargers, where he was obviously hurting.
On Monday, The Athletic's Dianna Russini and Alec Lewis were first to report that Wentz is undergoing left shoulder surgery, which will knock him out for the remainder of the season. There is some good news, as McCarthy is expected to return and start in Minnesota's next game against the Detroit Lions.
Carson Wentz's stint with Minnesota Vikings likely over after season-ending injury
First off, credit where credit is due. Wentz was playing through this left shoulder injury during his stint with the team.
Last Thursday, fans could see that Wentz was in immense pain, grabbing at his left shoulder while clearly grimacing. It got to the point where viewers wondered why the Vikings even played him.
For the most part, Wentz's stint was a mixed bag. He led the team to victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, the latter of which arrived in the closing seconds on a game-winning touchdown pass. But Wentz did have some rough outings, notably against the Philadelphia Eagles, his former team.
In five starts, Wentz threw for 1,216 yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions while completing 65.1 percent of his passes.
With this news, fans and analysts are reminded of the team's decision to move on from Darnold and Jones. Darnold had a bounce-back year with the Vikings, leading the team to 14 wins and a playoff berth.
Jones was brought in as a reclamation project and a backup option behind Darnold. Instead, the Vikings put their faith in McCarthy to lead the way for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Darnold is continuing his strong play with the Seattle Seahawks after signing a three-year, $100 million contract. Darnold has thrown for 1,754 yards, 12 touchdowns, and four interceptions on a 68.2 completion percentage, all while helping the Seahawks earn a 5-2 record so far this season.
As for Jones, he is the starting quarterback for the 7-1 Indianapolis Colts after signing a one-year, $14 million contract. Jones isn't blowing the league away statistically, but he looks calm, cool, and collected in the pocket and is making very minimal mistakes.
Jones has thrown for 2,062 yards, 13 touchdowns, and three interceptions on a 71.2 completion percentage. It's going so well for Jones that the Colts want to re-sign him to a long-term contract extension.
The Vikings knew the risk they were taking, but had a belief that McCarthy could be even better than both Darnold and Jones. Now he'll definitely have to prove it since Wentz is now done for the season.