Against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, all J.J. McCarthy could do was watch from the sideline as the Minnesota Vikings were handed a dreadful 26-0 loss on the road.
McCarthy was unable to play after he suffered a concussion in the Vikings' loss to the Green Bay Packers last week, so just like everyone viewing the game at home, he had the pleasure of watching Max Brosmer deliver a reminder that he's an undrafted rookie.
On Monday, Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell shared an update about his young quarterback, as the team begins preparations for a Week 14 contest against the Washington Commanders.
"[McCarthy is] symptom-free, and now the last phase, I believe, of the protocol is he needs to just have a full practice day, and that should come on Wednesday.
So, [we're] expecting [him to play], barring any unforeseen changes to where he's at today, and hopefully he can have a [normal practice]. I think just having that Wednesday will allow him to have a normal full week [of practice] and likely be able to go in as our starter on Sunday.
Minnesota Vikings expecting to have QB J.J. McCarthy back for Week 14 matchup with Washington Commanders
While McCarthy's last few performances before his injury weren't anything to rave about, none of them were even close to being as bad as what Max Brosmer did on Sunday when filling in as the Vikings' starter against the Seahawks.
With Brosmer starting under center, Minnesota scored zero points on offense for the first time since 2007, as he threw no touchdowns and four interceptions. It was bad, like real, real bad.
In a weird way, it's possible that watching someone else struggle significantly at the quarterback position due to inexperience might actually give McCarthy a bit of a confidence boost.
Perhaps he can play more freely and not be so worried about making a mistake all of the time, because what are the Vikings going to do? Bench him for the guy who just threw four interceptions? Definitely not.