The Minnesota Vikings won’t have their young quarterback in Week 3.
J.J. McCarthy is dealing with an ankle injury, so Carson Wentz will start against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell recently hyped up the veteran ahead of the game.
“One of the blessings of last week was he did get to take every rep in that Thursday practice. … We had a phenomenal Thursday practice. The ball, I don’t think it hit the ground more than one time. He was in total command. … He’s played a ton of football, and he’s carried teams on his back before. He’s not gonna need to do that. He’s gonna just need to go out there and simply do the things that he’s wildly capable of doing,” O’Connell said.
“He’s played a ton of football. He’s carried teams on his back before. He is not gonna need to do that. He’s gonna need to just go out there and simply do the things that he’s widely capable of doing.”#Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell on Carson Wentzpic.twitter.com/0SFOkt9HlH
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) September 16, 2025
This will be the sixth NFL team Wentz has started for in as many seasons, becoming the first quarterback to do so.
That speaks volumes about the state of his career.
It also goes to show that the Vikings could do a lot worse than to have him stepping in.
While they weren’t with the Los Angeles Rams at the same time, O’Connell runs a similar offense to what Wentz learned there, so it could be a seamless fit.
McCarthy hasn’t looked great in his first two NFL starts, and while it’s too early to pull the plug on him, having an experienced veteran as his backup certainly gives Minnesota some confidence.
If Wentz plays well against the Bengals’ vulnerable defense, perhaps the Vikings can give McCarthy another week to heal.
Then, if he struggles again in his return, they might want to consider giving him more time on the sidelines to grow and develop.
Minnesota has a championship-caliber defense, and after winning 14 games last season, it might not want to wait for a young offensive player to get it together.
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