To begin his weekly day-after press conference on Monday, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell revealed that quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been placed in concussion protocol and his status for the team's upcoming Week 13 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks is now uncertain.
If McCarthy is unable to be cleared by Sunday, undrafted rookie Max Brosmer will start at quarterback for the Vikings when they take on Sam Darnold and the Seahawks.
When asked about the quarterback situation on Monday, O'Connell stated that he has "a ton of confidence" in Brosmer if he has to start in Seattle.
Latest J.J. McCarthy injury could actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the Minnesota Vikings
Coming off a loss to the Green Bay Packers in which McCarthy and Minnesota's offense had a historically bad performance, getting someone new under center might be exactly what the Vikings need right now.
It will allow McCarthy to catch his breath and take a bit of a step back to possibly figure out why his performance has been so poor during the last few weeks.
After how down the tone of the Vikings' locker room was following Sunday's loss, a quarterback switch at this point in the season could also be something that generates actual optimism for the team heading into the upcoming contest against the Seahawks.
No one is assuming that Minnesota's offense will perform better with Brosmer starting under center if that is what ends up happening for the trip to Seattle. But, honestly, the bar isn't that high for the undrafted rookie to clear since the struggles of the Vikings' offense have been so extreme with McCarthy running it.
Week 13 for Minnesota and Seattle was supposed to be centered around a McCarthy vs. Darnold matchup. But now a lot of the discussion leading up to the contest will likely be about how differently things have become for the Vikings at the quarterback position since they decided to let Darnold walk out the door earlier this year.