Daily Norseman
With J.J. McCarthy in concussion protocol and having missed team reps on Wednesday, it is looking more and more like Max Brosmer will be starting for the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. In theory, if the Vikings win the rest of their games this season, they could make the playoffs. But with rookie UDFA Max Brosmer starting his first game and the oft-injured McCarthy the worst performing quarterback in the league, the Vikings are looking at next season, not this season.
Since the Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy, two things have become clear:
For any NFL player, the best ability is availability- especially as a starting quarterback- and McCarthy has been remarkably fragile. It’s not just that he’s been injured and missed (or will miss) games three times in just seven games (one preseason) it’s also that his injuries have come on unremarkable plays. It’s not like you winced when you re-watch the play he was injured on- which has been a question in itself. It’s more like, “was that enough to have caused the injury?” I believe all three of his injuries were not diagnosed until after the game or the next day. The point here is that regardless of performance, the Vikings cannot count of McCarthy staying healthy for at least 17 games. He has been injured too easily and too often.
In terms of performance, McCarthy is struggling with the basics at this point. He’s had two offseasons to get his footwork and mechanics in order but has yet to do so. At least not in games when it counts. He is a slow processor that holds the ball too long on most pass attempts, and he lacks both accuracy and touch on his passes. Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner evaluated his last game against the Packers and concluded that McCarthy simply isn’t a naturally accurate passer. That’s a pretty brutal assessment. Lastly, McCarthy also appears to have lost his confidence. At the end of the Packers game McCarthy looked noticeably dejected and remained so in the locker room afterward. Some say he’s trying too hard or thinking too much or he’s feeling too much pressure, or more likely all of the above, but that isn’t something that can be cured overnight.
It may be that McCarthy can show he can be a top performing starter next season, despite having one of the worst performances for a quarterback in his rookie season in the Super Bowl era. We’ll see. He’s still under contract next season. But the doubts about both his performance and durability necessitate that the Vikings have another bona fide starter on the roster next season to compete with McCarthy for the starting job and be at least a capable starter if/when McCarthy goes down if he doesn’t win the job outright.
