The Minnesota Vikings signed Brett Rypien off the Chicago Bears’ roster a year ago and traded for Sam Howell in the offseason. Meanwhile, they invested almost nothing in Max Brosmer, the undrafted former Gophers quarterback, and he beat Rypien and Howell out for a roster spot.
“He’s high-capacity from a thinking standpoint, but yet, he’s one of those guys that can go out and apply the thinking really fast,” Kevin O’Connell said after Brosmer showed out against the Tennessee Titans in Minnesota’s preseason finale. “To be able to hit the ground running the way he did with his opportunities in training camp gave him more opportunities, culminating with tonight.”
Minnesota offloaded Howell and signed Carson Wentz to be J.J. McCarthy’s primary backup. However, they also cut Rypien, 29, and placed Brosmer on the 53-man roster. He’s the kind of quarterback O’Connell loves. He speaks up in the position room, runs the scout team with aplomb because he knows the playbook, and processes quickly.
The only question with him is whether he’s ready to operate an NFL offense.
In simpler terms, can he play football at the highest level?
“Max has approached it exactly like you would hope he would,” said offensive coordinator Wes Phillips. “Always been prepared, knowing that he could be the next in on one play, when he was in the backup role.
“He’s a football guy. He’s all about it.”
The Vikings will turn to Max Brosmer if McCarthy, who’s in concussion protocol, cannot play in Seattle. After seeing McCarthy put up a 24.5 QBR (out of 100), fans are hoping Brosmer is Brock Purdy to McCarthy’s Trey Lance. The backup quarterback is always the most popular player when a starter is struggling. He’s an empty vessel behind Door 2 until he must play.
McCarthy has only played in six games, so it’s too early to call him a bust. He missed his rookie season with a meniscus tear and six weeks this year with a high ankle sprain. McCarthy studied the playbook and Minnesota’s opponents while recovering last year, but he wasn’t able to learn O’Connell’s preferred footwork and mechanics.
“I was taught how to play quarterback in a very different way,” McCarthy said earlier this month. “At the end of the day, you know, it was really just the injuries that I felt like kind of took away all those reps and the constant repetition to make those a habit.”
Ultimately, O’Connell and the Vikings believed they could win as long as McCarthy offered passable quarterback play on a loaded team. O’Connell would create a floor for his first-year quarterback, and the team would take care of the rest. However, that experiment failed in Lambeau on Sunday, if not earlier in the season.
O’Connell had maximized Kirk Cousins, previously a .500 quarterback, and turned Sam Darnold’s career around. However, Cousins had clean mechanics. He just had to learn O’Connell’s offense and test defenses with his arm. Conversely, Darnold was always willing to throw downfield. O’Connell mostly worked to clean up his footwork and throwing motion.
However, the Vikings are overhauling McCarthy’s mechanics while he’s learning O’Connell’s offense and adapting to the NFL. It proved to be too much.
A team that isn’t coming off a 14-win season may stick with its young quarterback and then go all-in when he looks like a franchise player. However, the Vikings have a roster ready to win now. It’s unfair to Justin Jefferson, Minnesota’s core players, and the defense to wait on a 22-year-old quarterback who is completing roughly half his passes.
Until McCarthy reported concussion symptoms, it looked like the rest of the season would be about his development. The Vikings have less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs, and there aren’t many other viable quarterback options. Kyle Shanahan revived Mac Jones’ career, but he seems like a high-floor, low-upside player. O’Connell seems to love Anthony Richardson, but he’s another project.
The Vikings would probably love to have a veteran to turn to right now, if not earlier in the season. However, Carson Wentz never mastered O’Connell’s offense and underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. So they turn to Brosmer, the former Gophers quarterback turned undrafted free agent.
Perhaps Max Brosmer becomes Brock Purdy, only he looks like Kevin Federline, not Anna Frey. He could also look like McCarthy, another rookie quarterback lost in O’Connell’s arcane offense. We’ll find out on Sunday if McCarthy can’t play. Sam Darnold will stand on the opposite sideline. Brosmer waits behind Door 2.