For the third week in a row, the Minnesota Vikings were forced to turn to Carson Wentz as their starting quarterback, with second-year signal-caller J.J. McCarthy down with a right high ankle sprain. Now they are forced to go even deeper down the depth chart with Wentz suffering a shoulder injury late in the second quarter in Week 5.
Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Depth Chart After Carson Wentz Goes Down
Late in the second quarter, Wentz took off from the pocket with his receivers locked up. Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schewesinger and Rayshawn Jenkins took Wentz down, and nothing appeared to be wrong as the game went to commercial.
When the game came back, the announcers said Wentz had gone to the blue tent to have his shoulder examined. All eyes turned to rookie quarterback Max Brosmer, who entered the game for the Vikings’ final drive of the first half.
Carson Wentz gets lit up by Browns defenders on this run, he has left the game 🤯
Hope everything is good. pic.twitter.com/bsTmfntcM7
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) October 5, 2025
Wentz made his way to the locker room before the end of the first half without his pads as he was headed to get X-rays on his left shoulder. While questionable heading into halftime, the veteran quarterback was able to return in the second half.
Brosmer fared well during the preseason, completing 60.3% of his passes with 364 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. His impressive final preseason performance culminated in a 100.1 passer rating. While Minnesota had Desmond Ridder on the roster last week, the Vikings released him on Saturday, Oct. 4.
While his early contributions during the preseason were promising, facing off against a starting-caliber NFL defense is a much different scenario. As Brosmer settles into his new role, the Vikings’ offense is bound to experience some growing pains. Brosmer is a complete unknown, but it stands to reason he will not be able to sustain the fantasy values of the Vikings’ three fantasy-relevant pass catchers as well as Wentz did.
Being the WR1 and one of the best in the game, Jefferson will likely be fine. But this could spell doom for the ancillary options. Jordan Addison, benched for the first quarter for an unknown reason, doesn’t have a catch yet. T.J. Hockenson has been minimally involved all season.
If Wentz has to miss extended time, Jefferson may be the only member of this passing attack worth starting, and he wouldn’t be a WR1 anymore, at least until JJ McCarthy returns.
