The outcomes of both of those situations will have a direct impact on Sunday’s game between the Darnold-less Vikings and the Darnold-led Seahawks.
In consecutive fourth-quarter games last week at Green Bay, McCarthy had his head slammed to the ground – first when he was tackled by Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie, and again on the next play when Green Bay defensive end Kingsley Anagbare chased and tackled him.
Sources told ESPN that McCarthy self-reported his symptoms on the flight back from Green Bay to Minnesota, and then found himself in concussion protocol, where he remains now.
With McCarthy out, the Vikings will start undrafted quarterback Max Brosmer, who starred at the University of Minnesota last season.
And just like that, the Vikings find themselves in the kind of challenging situation they were hoping to avoid last offseason, when two of their quarterbacks – Darnold and Daniel Jones – were about to become free agents.
The Vikings made an attempt to re-sign Darnold, but they were not as aggressive as the Seahawks or Steelers. The Seahawks offered Darnold more money and more years than Minnesota offered him. Seattle’s offer was proof that it wanted and valued Darnold more than Minnesota did, and the Seahawks landed their new starting quarterback just days after trading former starting quarterback Geno Smith to the Raiders.
Darnold – the son of a plumber and a teacher – has thrived in Seattle.
McCarthy, on the other hand, has had to deal with another injury-filled season – first he suffered an ankle sprain in Week 2 that kept him from playing until recently, and now the injury will keep him out of at least Sunday’s game.
The Vikings will now turn to Brosmar, whom they have had their eye on since last year. He first caught the attention of Vikings officials at the University of Minnesota’s pro day in March 2024, right after transferring to the program from the University of New Hampshire. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah both attended the day and were impressed.
Golden Gophers coach PJ Fleck later advocated for Broesmer along with Adofo-Mensah, who lobbied to earn the young quarterback an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Adofo-Mensah lobbied for Brosmer even though the Vikings, who entered the 2025 draft with only four selections, had no good chance of drafting him.
At the Gophers’ 2025 pro day a few weeks later, the Vikings GM was heard saying that he “wish(ed)” he hadn’t lobbied the trade for Broesmer “because then he would have really been our secret.”
Brosmer ultimately went undrafted, but the Vikings were the team that was most aggressive in signing him. He will become the first quarterback to make his first career start for an NFL team in the same state where he played college football since Joshua Dobbs, who played at the University of Tennessee and made his first start for the Titans in 2022.
Brosmer also attended the same high school – Centennial High School in Roswell, Georgia – with Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald.
So the Vikings lost Darnold but gained Broesmer — and now will get a chance to see both quarterbacks face off on Sunday in Seattle.
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