After putting quarterback J.J. McCarthy through a morning workout on Tuesday and determining “he’s not there yet,” the Vikings will start Carson Wentz on Thursday night against the Chargers, head coach Kevin O’Connell said.
Max Brosmer will again be the backup and McCarthy will be the emergency third QB, as he was Sunday against the Eagles.
“If this was a Sunday game, maybe it would be a little bit of a different story,” O’Connell said. “We could push it throughout the week and see where he’s at towards the end of the week. But really [Tuesday] is a Friday, being 48 hours out from the game.”
“There’s a couple times we shot ourselves in the foot, with penalties or different things,” Wentz said Tuesday.
He added: “I don’t think we handled it our best down there. … It’s nothing earth-shattering, just some simple execution could’ve been better and made a difference in the game.”
O’Connell said McCarthy’s high right ankle sprain is still affecting him with some of the sudden movements he’d need to make to protect himself in a game. McCarthy returned to practice last week for the first time since sustaining the injury on Sept. 14.
“It’s been in some of the movements, the reactionary movements within the pocket, being able to use his athleticism to protect himself in the pocket, and then as he’s able to work through progressions,” O’Connell said. “I feel really good about the work we’ve done on his foundation of his fundamentals. That’s been pretty evident through the work that he’s done. And he’s really been a commitment to doing that. It’s really just about, hey, there’s maybe a guy gets edged and I don’t really know the movement I’m going to have to make.
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