Coming out of the loss to the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings quarterback randomly popped up on the injury front having entered concussion protocol. After experiencing symptoms, McCarthy's status for this coming week was suddenly up in the air.
Now, The Athletic's Dianna Russini is reporting that McCarthy is not expected to play against the Seattle Seahawks this weekend.
"Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy, who entered concussion protocol earlier this week, is not expected to play Sunday against the Seahawks, I’m told," she reported.
Vikings fans likely won't get the J.J. McCarthy-Sam Darnold matchup everyone was talking about
Instead of McCarthy, it will more than likely end up being the undrafted rookie, Max Brosmer. By now, Vikings fans are plenty familiar with Brosmer who played for the Gophers last season before entering the NFL Draft.
Brosmer starting means that Vikings fans won't get the highly-anticipated matchup between the guy Minnesota chose over Sam Darnold and the man himself. Darnold and the Seahawks are flying high at 8-3 and fully in the thick of the NFC playoff race. Meanwhile, we know how this season has gone for McCarthy.
Fans have been all over the place, emotionally, when it comes to trying to figure out how they feel about the current quarterback situation. With McCarthy having only started six career games, there are plenty of valid thoughts when it comes to giving him some more time.
Yet, the way the Vikings were set up going into this season meant they should have been able to compete this year. So, waiting on a young quarterback to develop wasn't fully part of the plan -- even though it should have been.
The irony here is that Minnesota will now probably roll with a guy who has not started a single NFL game in his young career. But, at the end of the day, what's the worst that can happen? If Brosmer comes out and lays an egg, then fans will be 100 percent back on board with waiting on McCarthy to take a few more positive steps.
It has been a difficult situation for fans and players, alike, to navigate. McCarthy is one of the more likable guys this franchise has drafted in recent memory, so I'm sure it isn't hard for fans to join me in hoping for nothing but the best in terms of an overall outcome for the kid.