Carson Wentz is set to start his third consecutive game when the Minnesota Vikings play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. The Vikings were hoping second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy would return to practice this week and have a chance to play the Browns, but the right ankle sprain will keep him sidelined in Week 5.
Per Kevin Seifert of ESPN, unfortunate weather in London caused Minnesota to hold McCarthy out of practice. They were afraid the quarterback could suffer a setback practicing in rainy conditions.
“Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss his third consecutive start because of a right high ankle sprain after he was held out of practice once again Friday,” Seifert wrote. “The Vikings had hoped McCarthy would participate in at least a portion of the practice at their temporary facility outside London. But rain began falling early Friday morning, and coach Kevin O’Connell decided against it.”
O’Connell said he wanted to be “smart” with McCarthy, as the Vikings had to deal with a small practice field on top of the inclement weather. He hopes McCarthy will be available to play the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 19.
“(McCarthy) got through (the week) pretty well,” O’Connell said.
“Obviously, with the weather today, my hope was to try to get him some work during individual (drills), but with the weather and the tight field space — we’re working on a 100-yard field — we wanted to be smart with that. But very much looking forward to spending some time with him next week and see where he is at coming out of the bye.”
McCarthy and Wentz are both 1-1 as starters through the first four games. Wentz’s stats are better than McCarthy’s, as the veteran has thrown for 523 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions to McCarthy’s 301 passing yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
While the development of McCarthy is important to the Vikings this season, Wentz probably gives Minnesota the best chance to move the ball against a stout Browns defense. Led by star defensive end Myles Garrett, the Browns are ranked No. 1 in yards allowed, giving up an average of 222.5 yards per game.
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