The 2025 NFL season hasn't been kind to the Minnesota Vikings. Despite being decimated by injuries early in the year, the team has managed to start 2-1 with wins over the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals heading into Week 4.
One of those players missing time with an injury is starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy. An ankle injury against the Falcons in Week 2 will sideline him for a few weeks, but veteran passer Carson Wentz will fill in while he is out.
Wentz played well last week against the Bengals in the starting role; He completed 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns before heading to the bench in the blowout win at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Jared Allen thinks the Minnesota Vikings should ride the hot hand at quarterback during the 2025 NFL season.
However, this brings up an interesting situation. If Carson Wentz is playing well and J.J. McCarthy continues to struggle, what should the Minnesota Vikings do at quarterback for the rest of the season?
Outside of the quarterback position, the purple and gold boast a ton of talent and could be primed for a playoff appearance. This situation was brought up while talking to Vikings legend Jared Allen during the TVA Podcast.
During the show, TVA's Adam Patrick asked Allen about the current situation at quarterback, and the legendary edge rusher had an interesting idea for how to handle the duties behind center for the rest of the season.
"I believe you've got to go with the hot hand."
Allen went on to describe two similar situations from his time with the Kansas City Chiefs where switching back to the original quarterback didn't work out well for the team. This makes Allen a "firm believer" that riding the hot hand in the NFL is the way to go, especially when talking about a position as important as the quarterback position can be for a franchise.
Having J.J. McCarthy sit for another year might slow his development with Minnesota while they have Carson Wentz start, but it also might be detrimental to the young quarterback's growth to hit the bench when he's healthy.
Riding the hot hand would be an interesting approach as long as both quarterbacks are mentally prepared to deal with that kind of situation. Wasting the talent around those players would be a shame, so hopefully, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell will make the right call this season.