After Minnesota Vikings fans waited for hours, the team finally released its 53-man roster for the 2026 regular season on Sunday, and it immediately featured a surprise in the quarterback section.
However, this surprise had nothing to do with J.J. McCarthy.
Yes, the Vikings kept McCarthy on their final roster after some believed the team would attempt to move on from him before Sunday's roster deadline, but the biggest surprise from Minnesota's final 2026 roster was that they decided to use a spot on second-year quarterback Max Brosmer.
The same Max Brosmer who posted a 53.0 passer rating with the Vikings in 2025 and, more recently, finished the 2026 preseason with a 64.5 passer rating.
Instead of keeping anyone else who might actually make a sliver of an impact on Minnesota this season, they decided to give a roster spot to someone who can't throw a beach ball into the ocean.
Minnesota Vikings make the baffling decision to keep QB Max Brosmer on their final 53-man roster for the 2026 season
Sure, not all of the players the Vikings let go on Sunday would've been more worthy of a final roster spot than Brosmer, but most would have.
We're really going to sit here and pretend that guys like running back Zavier Scott, defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk, or safety Tavierre Thomas wouldn't have added more value to Minnesota's regular-season roster than Brosmer.
Alright, let's set aside the initial rage about the Vikings keeping the former Golden Gopher, and point out that just because he was among the team's initial final 53 selections doesn't mean he will still be a part of Minnesota's active roster by the time Week 1 comes around on September 13.
The Vikings and general manager Nolan Teasley have a lot of time between now and the start of the regular season to still make changes to the team's quarterback room and other position groups on their roster.
There's even a chance that Brosmer could be off the Vikings' roster within the next few days.
Still, if they end up waiving him before the start of the regular season in two weeks, then keeping him on the initial final 53 becomes even more pointless.
And then if Brosmer is still on Minnesota's active roster by the time they step on the field for the regular-season opener against the Green Bay Packers on September 13, it's completely fair to start having some major questions about how the Vikings are being run under Teasley and the other new members of the front office.
Teasley was brought by Minnesota in to make smarter decisions than the previous general manager, but the choice to give Brosmer a final roster spot isn't going to make people think that things are being run any differently than they were at this time a year ago.
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