With Carson Wentz done for the season following surgery to repair a torn shoulder, a roster move at quarterback was inevitable this week for the Minnesota Vikings.
Fans hoping that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah would swing for the fences woke up disappointed on Wednesday morning.
The Vikings signed their replacement for Wentz, and with the trade deadline looming on Tuesday evening, it was the kind of move fans should have expected. Veteran John Wolford, who has ties to Kevin O’Connell from their time together with the Los Angeles Rams, is heading to Minnesota after being signed to the practice squad.
Vikings added QB John Wolford to the practice squad. Has ample experience with this type of system, sharp dude. It’s the J.J. McCarthy show for here on out, and Max Brosmer likely to get a shot in the event of another injury.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) October 29, 2025
John Wolford’s arrival further illustrates the Minnesota’s Vikings' all-in stance on J.J. McCarthy in 2025
The quiet move signals that J.J. McCarthy remains on track to return in Week 9 against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, with rookie Max Brosmer remaining QB2; Wolford figures to be designated as the team’s emergency third quarterback for the Lions game.
The NFL trade deadline doesn’t arrive until Tuesday evening, but given Wolford’s obvious ties to O’Connell, fans shouldn’t be getting their hopes up for something bigger at the QB position this year.
For better or worse, this is McCarthy’s show going forward.
The Vikings could have reunited with Desmond Ridder, or checked back in with veteran Ryan Tannehill. They certainly could have shaken things up with a trade for Kirk Cousins or Case Keenum.
Their decision to stand pat with McCarthy and Brosmer, and add Wolford on a cheap practice squad deal, only makes their stance on McCarthy more clear; their chips have been all in on the 22-year-old QB, and his slow start and nagging ankle injury have done nothing to change that with deadline day approaching.
The Vikings have been chasing at the QB position all season. They’ll get 2026 compensatory picks for losing both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones in free agency, but their decision not to sign (or tag) one of those veterans remains a legitimate second guess.
They made a dart-throw move in acquiring Sam Howell during Day 3 of the NFL Draft, but that went about as expected. Carson Wentz should be celebrated in the Twin Cities for holding the rope as McCarthy worked his way back from injury, but the 32-year-old journeyman is now far past his prime; Wolford, 30, has been out of the league and hasn’t even appeared in an NFL game since the 2022 season.
At this point, the Vikings are 3-4 and short on options. They chose not to address their QB room with any semblance of urgency back in March, and the only logical path forward for this 2025 season is to stick it out with McCarthy, and see how far he can lead them.