The Minnesota Vikings opened the 2026 season with their quarterback depth chart in the expected order, as they also stopped pretending J.J. McCarthy can be something he has shown no signs of being.
Then, 11 snaps into Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, the equation changed. Kyler Murray suffered a concussion, and Carson Wentz stepped in. As the emergency No. 3 quarterback, the only way McCarthy could've played in the game was if Wentz was injured to the point that he couldn't continue.
Despite some positive signs regarding quick progress through the league's concussion protocol, Murray has been ruled out for Week 2 against the Chicago Bears. Wentz will start in his place.
McCarthy will now, as confirmed by head coach Kevin O'Connell on Friday, be bumped up to the No. 2 spot on the depth chart this week.
J.J. McCarthy now sits one snap away from a shot at redemption with the Minnesota Vikings
McCarthy's own injury absence during that stretch of time was a factor, but last season proved Wentz won't come off the field unless he's practically dragged off. "Tougher than a two-dollar steak" doesn't begin to describe it.
In the Week 8 Thursday night game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Wentz was wearing an apparatus on his upper non-throwing arm that appeared to be holding everything together.
He was clearly suffering as the Amazon Prime Video cameras captured him wincing every time he was hit. You'd be hard-pressed to find another shoulder injury with this combination of details.
That said, Wentz is an older quarterback, and the mobility he had when he first came into the league with the Philadelphia Eagles is long gone. The Bears' pass rush didn't look fierce in Week 1, but it only takes one unideal hit to knock a quarterback out of a game.
And what if Wentz plays especially poorly against the Bears? There's expected early optimism that Murray can be ready to go for Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but concussions are unpredictable. So there's a possible path that way, however remote it seems right now, for McCarthy to start that game.
For this week, though, as the No. 2 quarterback behind Wentz, McCarthy will be the proverbial "one snap away" from potentially starting a redemption arc.
Sunday's game is also against the team he made his first start of his career against in Week 1 last season. All he did that week was win NFC Offensive Player of the Week after leading a fourth-quarter comeback.
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