Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz played three games with a dislocated left shoulder that included a torn labrum and fractured socket before being ruled out for the rest of the season.
The veteran quarterback suffered the injury in Week 5, but battled through three additional games in an effort to give second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy a bit more time to get healthy, and give Wentz an opportunity to compete, according to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
“Once he sustained the initial injury to his left shoulder against the Browns, it was really a matter of getting the medical interpretations where once Carson was told ‘you’re going to have to get this fixed but you really can’t make it worse,’ I believe his phrase to me was, ‘I want to take advantage of this opportunity. I get to play, I get to play with this coaching staff and these players for the Minnesota Vikings. I want to exhaust this every possible way that I can. And I know J.J. will back at some point here as he gets healthy, but this is a genuine opportunity where I can help this team win,'” O’Connell said of Wentz.
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Wentz was placed on season-ending injured reserve as he gets set to undergo surgery to repair the injury. With the veteran quarterback out for the season, Minnesota signed well-traveled quarterback John Wolford, who hasn’t thrown a pass in the NFL since 2022, to the team’s practice squad.
Wolford appeared in seven NFL games and made four starts from 2020-22, including one start with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 when O’Connell was the team’s offensive coordinator. After leaving the Rams in 2023, the quarterback has had cups of coffee with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, but hasn’t played in a game since December 2022.
McCarthy will serve as the team’s starting quarterback this weekend against the Detroit Lions as rookie quarterback Max Brosmer serves as the backup.
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