During the last few months, it's become more and more clear that the Minnesota Vikings have grossly mismanaged multiple injuries on their roster, and after the details about the shoulder injury that Carson Wentz has been dealing with were released on Monday, the public is starting to take notice of the team's terrible injury decisions this year.
After the Vikings placed Wentz on injured reserve on Monday with a season-ending shoulder injury, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport revealed that, since the team's Week 5 win over the Cleveland Browns, the veteran quarterback has been playing with a dislocated shoulder that resulted in a torn labrum and a fractured socket.
In Minnesota's blowout loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last Thursday, the TV broadcast showed Wentz agonizing in pain numerous times after getting pummeled by the opposing defense, and many would argue that the team left him in the game much longer than necessary.
But after the matchup, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell shared that he was constantly checking in with Minnesota's medical staff to see if Wentz needed to come out. O'Connell said he was told that he was okay for Wentz to remain in the game.
This decision now looks like a terrible one, and unfortunately, it's just the latest mistake on a growing list made by the Vikings' medical team this year.
Bad injury decisions starting to get out of control for the 2025 Minnesota Vikings
Wentz is now part of a group of Minnesota players that also includes J.J. McCarthy, Christian Darrisaw, Andrew Van Ginkel, Ryan Kelly, Harrison Smith, Brian O'Neill, and others who have been negatively impacted by the decisions of the team's medical staff this season.
We've already gone over what Wentz has dealt with in the last few weeks, but for a quick refresher, let's look at how the injuries for some of the other players from this group have been managed this year by the Vikings' medical team.
J.J. McCarthy - QB
Midway through Minnesota's Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain, and instead of taking him out of the game, he was allowed to continue playing, and it's possible that he made the injury worse.
Had McCarthy been kept out of the contest right after injuring his ankle, perhaps he would have been able to return to the field sooner than the seven weeks that he has been sidelined since.
Christian Darrisaw - LT
A little more than a year ago, Darrisaw tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee, and to the surprise of some, he was part of the Vikings' active roster to begin the 2025 season.
Darrisaw's first appearance this year happened in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, and it already seems like that was a mistake.
Minnesota's starting left tackle hasn't even been able to get in a full week of practice yet this season, and most recently, he exited the Chargers game after only being on the field for a total of nine snaps.
This, in addition to Darrisaw being on a snap limit in his first few games back, makes it obvious that he returned to the field much sooner than he should have this year.
Harrison Smith - S
Smith didn't play until Week 3 due to what the team described as "a personal health issue," and that's just about all we know about that.
But even when he returned, he was only on the field for less than half of Minnesota's defensive snaps, and some wondered why he was even playing if he was only going to be involved in a limited number of plays.
Smith has been on the field for more than 80 percent of the Vikings' defensive snaps in their last two games, so it seems like his playing time is at least back to normal.
However, his performance this season still hasn't been at the high level that we've grown accustomed to in his career, and perhaps it would be if he were given more time to recover earlier this year.
Ryan Kelly - C
Kelly suffered a concussion in Minnesota's Week 2 loss to the Falcons, and despite suffering multiple concussions within the last few seasons, he was only out of action for one game before returning to the team in Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Unfortunately, Kelly had to exit the Steelers matchup midway through the contest after suffering another concussion, and it ultimately resulted in the Vikings placing him on injured reserve before the team's game in Week 5.
Had Kelly been kept off the field for more than just one matchup, perhaps he would have been able to avoid that second concussion, and his status for the remainder of the season wouldn't be so up in the air like it currently is.
Andrew Van Ginkel - OLB
Van Ginkel has only appeared in two games for Minnesota this year as he's been dealing with a neck injury. The injury forced him to miss a bunch of training camp this summer, too, so it's something that the Vikings have known about for quite a while now.
After starting in Minnesota's Week 1 win over the Chicago Bears, Van Ginkel sat out Week 2 and then attempted to return in Week 3, but he ended up only lasting on the field for a total of eight snaps. Since then, he hasn't been active for a game, and his status for the rest of the season is unknown.
Van Ginkel playing in Week 1 and Week 3 now looks like an awful decision, as he clearly needed more time to recover from his neck injury to begin the year.
Brian O'Neill - RT
O'Neill was inactive for last Thursday's game in Los Angeles, and it wasn't directly due to the MCL sprain he suffered in his right knee back in Week 4, but that injury resulted in the Vikings' veteran blocker developing some soreness in his other knee as a result of overcompensation when playing in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles
Once again, it seems like this was another example of Minnesota allowing a player to return to the field earlier than they should have this year, and the rest of O'Neill's season will likely be impacted by this decision.
Why have the Vikings mismanaged so many injuries this year? Who is making the final calls on these decisions? Is O'Connell putting pressure on the medical staff to clear guys before they should return, or is Minnesota's medical staff just making terrible decision after terrible decision?
These bad decisions have significantly contributed to the Vikings' struggles this year, and there's a good chance that someone or multiple people will be out of a job after the season because of them.