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JJ McCarthy injury: Why Vikings QB is not playing vs Lions; what it means for Max Brosmer
Vikings will start backup QB Max Brosmer vs Lions on Christmas Day with J.J. McCarthy out. Minnesota is eliminated; McCarthy has 11 TDs, Brosmer 220 yards.
As the Minnesota Vikings take on the Detroit Lions in the Christmas Day NFL fixture on Thursday night, they are without their star quarterback, J.J. McCarthy. In his stead, backup quarterback Max Brosmer, will take over the throwing duties for the Vikings.
Though McCarthy's absence is a big blow to the Vikings, the Week 17 game is potentially inconsequential, as the Vikings are already out of playoff contention this season. McCarthy has thrown for 1,450 yards with 11 touchdowns this season, coupled with 12 interceptions.
Brosmer, meanwhile, has featured only intermittently in six games for the Vikings (before the Week 17 clash vs the Lions). The rookie QB has only 220 yards of passing with no touchdowns.
What Happened To J.J. McCarthy?
Minnesota Vikings Kevin O'Connell had said Tuesday, after Sunday night's game against the New York Giants that McCarthy has a "very small" hairline fracture in his throwing hand, and will not feature against the Lions.
"It's just a bummer," O'Connell had said, "because it's been really fun. ... I know the week-to-week judgment of players and decisions and all these things that are noise in many cases, I understand it all. But the most fun part of this, and the most real part of it, is coaching the young player on his journey where we've really started to see, kind of, some things click for him."
It's unclear when the injury occurred during the Giants game. It was detected after the game, and McCarthy has been undergoing rehabilitation since.
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What It Means For Max Brosmer
Though the Vikings' season is more or less over - with just the Week 17 and Week 18 games remaining - it is a chance for the rookie QB Max Brosmer to make an impact. The former University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and New Hampshire Wildcats star has a quarterback rating of 14.5 this season, due to the lack of game time and playing under the shadow of J.J. McCarthy.
Signed as a free agent by the Vikings in 2025, Brosmer was a standout with the Golden Grophers in the 2024 season. he set the school single-season completions record with 268 and threw for 2,828 yards with 18 TDs and a 66.5% completion rate.
He would look to repeat some of those numbers in Week 17, and possibly even Week 18, and look to stay in contention next season for the QB1 position.
