Vikings passer J.J. McCarthy is slotting into the QB2 job. He’s looking to chase down QB1 Kyler Murray while staying ahead of QB3 Carson Wentz.
Where does Max Brosmer slot into the mix?
Most obvious is the QB4 job. Best guess as of March of 2026 is that the fourth arm will find work on the practice squad, at best. Whether that job goes to Brosmer remains to be seen. He offers much to like and yet is coming off a disappointing debut season as a Viking, creating some curiosity about how things will unfold for the former Gopher.
Vikings Passer Max Brosmer Barely Holding On
So far, Kevin O’Connell has struggled when whispering to the young fellas.
Kellen Mond didn’t stick around in the early days of O’Connell at HC, a reality that was pretty easy to excuse since he was a Rick Spielman draftee (and someone whom Mike Zimmer didn’t even want). But then there was the decision to bring Jaren Hall to town in the 5th of the 2023 NFL Draft. All along, Hall’s upside was that of a backup, but he only survived a single season. Had things gone well, Hall would be moving into the fourth year of his rookie contract.
Consider, as well, that fourth-year passer Sam Howell didn’t last long in Minnesota, pushing the tally up to three young quarterbacks who haven’t shined in Minnesota.
Most concerning, of course, has been the failure to launch from J.J. McCarthy.
The Michigan alumnus is still only 23. Working against him has been his knee injury, ankle injury, concussion, and wrist injury. Combined, those four ailments have stolen away twenty-four of the passer’s opening thirty-four games as a pro. For someone who needs reps, McCarthy has had a rough go.
Worse yet, Kevin O’Connell put too heavy a burden on the young fella last year. Asking him to bounce back from injury while keeping his team in the playoff race while also needing to fix his mechanics in the middle of the season was a monstrous lift worthy of King Kong, Godzilla, or Sasquatch. Further exacerbating the problem was the curious commitment toward avoiding the run game.
At the risk of being too contrarian, I’ll maintain that J.J. McCarthy will someday be a very good NFL passer.
Somewhere within all of that craziness last year was the trash talking Max Brosmer, someone who is held in high regard by powerful people in the Twin Cities. Brosmer was supposed to be the QB3 for all of 2025 due to being an undrafted rookie. Injury turmoil necessitated him moving all over the depth chart, operating as the QB1, QB2, or QB3 as different needs emerged. Like McCarthy, Brosmer was put in a position to fail.
His stats are ugly. While leading Minnesota to a 1-1 record, Brosmer completed 66.2% of his passes (very healthy) but only had 328 yards to stand alongside his 0 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
Coach O’Connell, in other words, wasn’t able to squeeze some unexpected excellence out of the Vikings passer who wasn’t supposed to play so early. Circumstances, not curious coaching, were the main culprit in Brosmer’s struggles.
Moving forward, there are legitimate questions about whether Max Brosmer will stick around for the 2026 season.
Short of injury issues, Kyler Murray, McCarthy, and Carson Wentz are very close to being roster locks. A world exists where Mr. McCarthy proves so sizzling that Murray gets shipped out, but that’s a very small possibility. Brosmer is therefore moving into a future where his opening for a spot on the roster is close to non-existent independent of injury or unexpected trade.
A spot on the practice squad is nothing to scorn. After all, the young quarterback didn’t get drafted, suggesting a modest pre-draft assessment. Journeying through the pros with a 0/4 TD-to-INT split isn’t going to help with the belief that he’s going to rise from his humble beginnings.
By no means should he be totally written off; rather, there needs to be a realistic assessment of where he currently is before then slotting him into an appropriate role to best maximize his chance at developing for the future.
What would really put his roster spot on life support would be the decision to draft a passer late or to take somebody out of undrafted free agency. Doing so would hit as very bad news for Max Brosmer.
Last season, Brosmer decided to slap a horn onto his helmet largely due to the promise of seeing $244,000 guaranteed in his deal. None of that guaranteed cash remains, meaning the Vikings can move on without any financial repercussions.
Max Brosmer is 25.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.