News Vikings Team Notes

Minnesota Vikings · Nov 22, 2025

Norse Code Podcast Episode 588: Prepare for the Surface (with guest Justis Mosqueda)

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Episode Notes:

My piece on J.J. McCarthy’s development

Jason Hirschhorn’s peice on the offensive funk the Packers are in

This is the Jay Cutler/Kyle Long story James mentions

Plaxico Burress tells the story of shooting himself in the leg

The Onterrio Smith Whizzinator story

If you must make turkey, spatchcock it

Machine Gun Kelly did not like my tweet

Follow us on Twitter / Bluesky

Arif – @ArifHasanNFL / @arif.bsky.social

James – @bigmono / @norsecodpocast.bsky.social

Justis – @JuMosq / @jumosq.bsky.social/

To listen to more, this is the link to that iTunes feed. If you can’t for whatever reason subscribe via iTunes, subscribe to via our RSS feed, which should support the RSS reader or podcast organizer of your choice. You can still leave a review even if you can’t subscribe via iTunes because it’s easy to create an AppleID. We also have a YouTube channel. Our podcasts are automatically uploaded there.

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Once again, contact me at arifmhasan (at) gmail dot com or the podcast at NorseCodePodcast (at) gmail dot com. Follow us on twitter at @NorseCodeDN or just me @ArifHasanNFL

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...re-for-the-surface-with-guest-justis-mosqueda

Minnesota Vikings · Nov 23, 2025

SB Nation Reacts Results: No Benching (for now)

We’re on the eve of the first of this year’s Border Battles against the Green Bay Packers, so let’s take a quick look at the results of our SB Nation Reacts questions for this week about our Minnesota Vikings.

As always, our first question this week was about whether or not our readers feel that the purple are moving in the right direction. I expected a drop-off this week, and while I was right in that regard, I’m pleasantly surprised that the drop wasn’t quite as large as I was expecting it to be.

Of our respondents, 32% feel that the Vikings are heading in the right direction. That number was at 39% last week after the loss to Baltimore, so it was just a small drop after a second consecutive loss this week. Hopefully we can see that number rebound in a big way if the Vikings can score an upset tomorrow afternoon at Lambeau.

Our other question for this week had to do with the quarterback situation, specifically whether or not the team should bench J.J. McCarthy in favor of Max Brosmer. This one was closer than I might have thought.

According to those who responded to our poll, 40% think that the inexperienced McCarthy should be sent to the bench for the even more inexperienced Brosmer.

I don’t know. . .as someone (I think GA Skol) said in one of our roundtables a while back when Carson Wentz was still starting games, the whole “let’s just start Max Brosmer” idea has a whole lot of “let’s just start Jaren Hall” energy behind it, in my opinion. The difference is that if you go to Brosmer here and he stinks, too. . .then what? There’s not really a good answer to that question, honestly. It’s time to let McCarthy get the reps, let him try to work through as many of his issues as possible, and continue his development.

Those are our SB Nation reacts questions for this week, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you to everyone who participated in our survey this week, and we’ll have another one for you early next week as well.

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...ts-no-benching-j-j-mccarthy-minnesota-vikings

Minnesota Vikings · Nov 23, 2025

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers: Key Information and First Quarter Discussion

We are thirty minutes away from getting things started at Lambeau Field between the Green Bay Packers and our Minnesota Vikings. Here is all of the information you need in order to get up to speed on today’s contest.

Date and Time: Sunday, 23 November 2025, noon Central time

Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Television Info: KMSP-9 in the Twin Cities, FOX affiliates around the country, YouTube TV NFL Sunday Ticket

Radio Info: Vikings Radio Network affiliates, SiriusXM Channel 385, SiriusXM App Channel 820

Line: Vikings +6.5, over/under 41.5

Chris’ Prediction: Packers 23, Vikings 20

Three Keys

1) Please, for the love of God, stop doing dumb things – It’s not just the offense on this one. We’ve seen lapses on defense, untimely penalties on special teams, and lots of other things that have made things more difficult than they need to be for this football team. The Vikings don’t have a whole lot of margin for error at this point, and so they need to find the discipline that has eluded them at key points throughout the season if they want the competitive portion of 2025 to continue.

2) Force some turnovers – The Vikings’ defense has not been forcing turnovers at nearly the same rate this season as they have the past couple of years. With the offense having its share of issues, it would help if the defense could steal the occasional possession and/or put the offense on a short field every once in a while to help them out. I’m not sure if they can do it against this offense, but it sure would be helpful if they could.

3) Keep the faith at quarterback – Yes, it’s hard to watch a young quarterback go through the kind of struggles that J.J. McCarthy is currently going through. However, it’s also easy to see why the Vikings think there’s something there. At this point, #9 needs the reps to continue his development and, hopefully, we’ll start to see the consistency from him that he needs to provide at that spot.

Know the Foe: Acme Packing Company

Twitter: @DailyNorseman

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/thedailynorseman

As always, we will start a brand new Open Thread at the beginning of each quarter, so keep your eyes open for those and be sure to move the discussion along accordingly.

Here’s hoping that in about three hours or so we’ll be able to talk about how awesome it was to pull off another significant upset and keep hope alive, if only for another week.

SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...kers-key-information-first-quarter-discussion

Minnesota Vikings · Monday at 1:18 AM

Vikings Have Difficult Path Ahead with J.J. McCarthy

After a miserable loss to the Green Bay Packers, a game in which J.J. McCarthy continued to struggle, the Minnesota Vikings face an increasingly difficult path with McCarthy’s development. The increased difficulty comes as McCarthy appears to have lost confidence after six games of ongoing accuracy and other issues.

The Vikings’ game plan against the Packers was a conservative one offensively, looking to run the ball and take the pressure off McCarthy after rallying veterans around McCarthy to help boost his confidence earlier in the week. It didn’t work.

The Viking’s scoring drives stalled in the first half resulting in long field goals. McCarthy never really seemed comfortable or in-rhythm when called upon to pass, and had just two completions of significance. In the second half the Vikings fell behind and were forced to pass more, but McCarthy simply wasn’t up to the task. The Vikings second half offensive drives amounted to three 3-and-outs and two interceptions. 15 plays total.

McCarthy appeared to be noticeably demoralized toward the end of the game and while both McCarthy and Kevin O’Connell tried to put a good spin on it after the game, clearly McCarthy’s confidence has been shot. He continues to hold the ball too long often times and accuracy remains an issue as his second interception was way off target.

Bottom line with McCarthy right now is that he isn’t sufficiently functional as a starting quarterback right now and his trajectory after six games is downward. Matt Waldman, in writing that McCarthy was the most difficult/polarizing quarterback evaluation of the 2024 draft class, had this evaluation which seems prescient at the moment:

McCarthy’s development hinges on two things: 1) How accurate is he really? And 2) How well can he address his decision-making/processing gaffes?

If the high-end positives are an indicator that he’ll address most of his flaws, McCarthy can become a franchise starter with Pro Bowl production potential. If the McCarthy proves accurate enough but he can only make minor-to-moderate improvements with his decision-making and processing gaffes, he’ll need a great infrastructure of surrounding talent and scheme fit to sustain starter production and that may only translate to McCarthy becoming a high-end journeyman starter.

If McCarthy can’t overcome his flaws and he’s not accurate, he’ll be the Zach Wilson 2.0 that’s the version we’ve seen of Wilson thus far in his NFL career. My projection is Jake Plummer: A player who will be expected to become the franchise who eventually figures it out but not without some difficult times and possibly a team change for him to get there.

Click to expand...

At this point, McCarthy is on a worst case, Zach Wilson 2.0 trajectory. It’s still early- he’s only had six starts- but his level of play right now isn’t adequate for the Vikings to play competitive football. Kevin O’Connell is trying to game plan around McCarthy’s weak points by running the ball, but even with limited attempts and a good ground game McCarthy is struggling to get the Vikings in the end zone. And as the Vikings inevitably fall behind and need to lean into the pass game, things unravel as McCarthy’s struggles are highlighted.

The Difficult Path Ahead

McCarthy’s current level of play and declining confidence creates a dilemma for Kevin O’Connell. At some point playing McCarthy could become counterproductive if he isn’t operating at an adequate level for success. Playing in that circumstance could simply continue to damage McCarthy’s confidence. On the other hand, McCarthy needs more experience to develop into the franchise quarterback the Vikings expect him to be.

The question for O’Connell is whether another week of preparation is enough to put McCarthy in position to change his trajectory, or if he needs more time to work on his fundamentals. The Vikings are not contending for the postseason, so that isn’t a consideration. But the best path for preparing McCarthy for success and to change his trajectory should be.

In the meantime, the Vikings travel to Seattle next weekend and the contrast between Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy, while unfair given the differences in their career development, will likely be painful for Vikings fans and probably Vikings’ players, truth be told, as the Vikings could’ve extended Darnold.

Huge Challenge for Kevin O’Connell

Kevin O’Connell famously said that organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations, and McCarthy’s development will put that to the test. O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah started scouting quarterbacks the first year they were hired, honing their process until the time was right to draft a young quarterback. They eventually moved on from Kirk Cousins and signed Sam Darnold as a bridge to J.J. McCarthy, who led them to a 14-3 record last season, while McCarthy spent his rookie season on injured reserve. Daniel Jones was also signed to the practice squad near the end of the season. But they decided McCarthy was the future and didn’t make Darnold a competitive extension offer. They made a competitive offer to Daniel Jones, but Jones felt he had a better chance to start in Indianapolis so he took their offer instead. They also passed on Aaron Rodgers. They did sign Sam Howell, but he didn’t work out, so they signed Carson Wentz off the couch in late August. They also signed Max Brosmer as a UDFA, who impressed and surprisingly made the team. He’s now the backup quarterback.

That’s a lot of quarterback decision-making, but right now the only two good ones were the one to move on from Cousins for Sam Darnold and signing Max Brosmer as a UDFA.

Overall, O’Connell and Adolfo-Mensah passed on a lot of quarterbacks in favor of McCarthy, who is the worst starting quarterback in the league right now. They took advantage of a cheap quarterback contract to spend big in free agency, believing they were contenders with McCarthy at the helm. That was not the case and this season has been lost. All that puts tremendous pressure on O’Connell and Adolfo-Mensah to make it right and soon. And they’ll have their decision to move on from Sam Darnold shoved in their face as the Vikings travel to Seattle next weekend, which will make it worse.

Kevin O’Connell had the reputation as the quarterback whisperer by helping to elevate Kirk Cousins’ play and transforming Sam Darnold’s career, and even for his brief time with Daniel Jones, who has also seen his career rejuvenated this season in Indianapolis. But right now McCarthy’s poor and declining performance hangs like an albatross around O’Connell’s neck.

Credit O’Connell for staying the course with McCarthy’s development, not losing patience, and making adjustments to try to help put McCarthy in better positions to succeed. But there has to be some frustration with McCarthy’s performance as well. McCarthy seems to struggle most with the type of offense O’Connell wants to run, namely play-action passing, targeting the middle of the field, and executing deep shots. And if McCarthy is unable to show considerable improvement over the remainder of the season, it’s unlikely O’Connell will roll with McCarthy as the unchallenged starter next year. Who the competition is and how they may be acquired remains to be seen, but McCarthy will likely need to win a quarterback competition to maintain his starting job.

At the end of the day, the Vikings have over half their 2026 salary cap invested in an offense that is useless without a capable quarterback and will continue to underachieve without a good one. That will weigh in organizational decision-making. Failing the rest of the team, and fan base, developing a quarterback that may never elevate the team is an organizational concern as well. There were rumors of some discontent among players during the offseason around quarterback decision making.

That’s why McCarthy needs to show improvement and likely has just six games to do so or risk losing his starting job. McCarthy has gone out of his way to thank teammates for standing with him through his struggles, which have been a major reason behind the team’s disappointing and now lost season. He is well liked, but everyone knows the NFL is a performance business and there are limits to grace periods for underperforming starters. Part of McCarthy’s evaluation this offseason should include a reassessment of his trajectory and ceiling.

Regime Survival May Depend on Making It Right

Both Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah have recently been extended, but they’ll need to make the Vikings quarterback situation right if they’re to have a long term future with the organization. They’ve made a lot of high-profile decisions around the quarterback position and O’Connell’s coaching metier is the quarterback position, so not having a good quarterback reflects directly on O’Connell and Adolfo-Mensah.

The 49ers stayed with head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch despite their high profile and expensive failure in trading up for Trey Lance in 2021. They were saved by 7th round pick Brock Purdy working out instead. It’s unclear if McCarthy doesn’t work out if Max Brosmer could prove to be another Brock Purdy, but I doubt O’Connell and Adolfo-Mensah will count on that in the upcoming offseason. They almost certainly will bring in a veteran to compete for the starting position. Early rumors point to Mac Jones, who’s done well filling in for Purdy this season with the 49ers. He’s signed through 2026 though. The Vikings acquired Sam Darnold after a season as a backup with the 49ers.

In any case, the preferred outcome is for McCarthy to show improvement and ultimately realize expectations as a high-end franchise quarterback. But right now, McCarthy needs to show a lot more on the field over the next six games to keep his job and the prospect of the Vikings having a high-end franchise quarterback leading the team deep into the postseason seems a long way off.

We’ll see what the rest of the season brings.

Follow me on X/Bluesky @wludford

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/general/93133/vikings-have-difficult-path-ahead-with-j-j-mccarthy

Minnesota Vikings · Monday at 1:42 PM

Vikings Barely Competitive In Season-Ending Loss to Packers

For all intents and purposes, the competitive portion of the Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 season came to a screeching halt on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.

After going into halftime trailing 10-6, the Vikings completely fell apart in the second half, with another special teams gaffe sending the team into a spiral that resulted in a 23-6 loss on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.

The Vikings drew first blood in this one, getting a 52-yard field goal from Will Reichard on their first possession to stake themselves to a 3-0 lead two minutes into the contest. Green Bay immediately responded, marching down the field with just about no resistance from the Minnesota defense and ending the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run from Emmanuel Wilson to take a 7-3 lead.

That was how the first quarter ended, and the Vikings rumbled into Green Bay territory in the second quarter behind Jordan Mason and the run game. They found themselves facing a 3rd-and-1 from the Green Bay 17-yard line, and Kevin O’Connell called for T.J. Hockenson to attempt a sneak from under center that resulted in no gain. The Vikings went for it on 4th-and-1, and Mason got stuffed for no gain for a turnover on downs.

The Packers turned that turnover on downs into more points, as they got a 32-yard field goal from Brandon McManus to extend their lead to 10-3 with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. Minnesota got themselves into field goal range again in their two-minute drill, because Will Reichard’s field goal range is pretty long. He drilled a 59-yard attempt with seconds left in the quarter to send the game into halftime at 10-6.

Early in the third quarter, the Vikings made a disastrous special teams play for the second week in a row. They forced a Green Bay punt, and Myles Price let the ball bounce, thinking it would go into the end zone. Instead, the ball bounced off of Price, and Green Bay recovered the muffed punt inside the Minnesota ten. Two plays later, Wilson went in for his second 1-yard touchdown run of the day to make it 17-6 just over four minutes into the third quarter.

Green Bay added to their lead with another McManus field goal, this one a 30-yarder to make it 20-6 with just over 12 minutes remaining in regulation. McManus then hit a 40-yarder to make it 23-6 with about seven and a half minutes remaining. On the first play of the ensuing drive, McCarthy was hit as he threw and intercepted by Isaiah McDuffie for another turnover, making the Vikings minus-2 in that category on the afternoon.

That quickly turned into a minus-3 on the next drive, as McCarthy attempted a long pass to Jalen Nailor and overthrew him, getting intercepted by Evan Williams for his second pick of the day. After that, the Packers put Malik Willis in at quarterback and basically ran the clock out from there.

The loss drops the Vikings to 4-7 on the season and, essentially, ends any chance they might have had at the postseason for 2025. They would have to win out from this point, and even that likely wouldn’t be enough. The rest of this season is, largely, going to be an evaluation for the Vikings. . .both from a player perspective and a coaching perspective.

Next week, the Vikings will face off with one of the best teams in the NFL as they’ll head out to Seattle to face the Seahawks and old friend Sam Darnold.

The Vikings fall to the Green Bay Packers in Week 12 NFL action by a final score of 23-6 at Lambeau Field. Thank you to everyone who got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...ings-green-bay-packers-final-score-game-recap

Minnesota Vikings · Tuesday at 1:46 AM

Breaking Down Max Brosmer

Now that Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been placed in the concussion protocol, it seems likely that backup quarterback Max Brosmer will get the start on Sunday against the Seahawks, although Kevin O’Connell said he’d wait to see how things go before making a decision on who will start at quarterback in Seattle.

Brosmer was signed as a UDFA by the Vikings after the draft this year and after a rough first few days in training camp progressed very well and made the active roster, which is exceedingly rare for a UDFA as a rookie. In fact, I believe Brosmer is the only UDFA quarterback who made an active roster as a rookie in the league right now.

Kevin O’Connell has spoken highly of Brosmer, who he first met when he attended the University of Minnesota pro day in 2024. Brosmer was not in the 2024 draft, but nevertheless O’Connell had the chance to see Brosmer work out and was impressed with what he saw and heard from him. He had a chance to see him again at the 2025 University of Minnesota pro day and again liked what he saw which ultimately led to the Vikings signing him after the draft as an undrafted college free agent.

Early Life and College Experience

Brosmer was born in Davenport, Iowa, grew up in Ohio, and then his family moved to Atlanta at the start of middle school where he played high school football at Centennial in Roswell and began working with quarterback coach Quincy Avery. He accepted an offer from New Hampshire over a couple others from Ivy League schools and a walk-on offer from Kirby Smart at Georgia.

He had a total of 49 starts over six years between New Hampshire and later the University of Minnesota in his final season of college football, which is a lot of experience. He ran pro-style offenses with both schools and was given a lot of play-calling responsibilities early on that some college quarterbacks never get. He is currently 24 years old- he turns 25 next March.

Brosmer had the 11th highest PFF passing grade (84.2) among the 2025 quarterback draft class for the 2024 college season. That was pretty consistent with but slightly better than his last three seasons at New Hampshire, despite moving from FCS to FBS/Big Ten competition.

His last season at Minnesota in 2024 he went 268/406 (66%) for 2,801 yards (6.9/attempt), 18 TDs and 6 INTs. His adjusted completion % (accuracy) was 77.5% (7th best among FBS starters) and his NFL passer rating was 94.5. He set the Gophers’ single season completion record (268). Over his entire college career, he went 953/1,498 (63.6%) for 10,801 yards (7.2/attempt), 87 TDs and 25 INTs.

Consensus Scouting Report

Prior to the draft there were several scouting reports on Max Brosmer (6’2”, 217 lbs.) with a good deal of agreement between them, which isn’t always the case. Overall, his consensus/consolidated scouting report looks like this:

Strengths

High/elite football IQ

Ability to process/progress quickly

Throws with anticipation

Good decision making

Good Accuracy, but with some situational quibbles

Good layering passes with touch

Good throwing mechanics, footwork

Quick, compact release- gets the ball out fast

Strong leadership traits

Coachable with high work ethic

Weaknesses

Not much of a threat running the ball

Not a great scrambler/mobile passer

Average+ arm strength

Not able to create much out of structure

Some injury history (knee injury in 2021)

Brosmer wasn’t drafted because he was seen as a pocket-only passer with an average physical skill set and having played most of his college career in FCS New Hampshire he wasn’t scouted much. He was also a bit older as a prospect at 24 years old.

But in terms of above-the-shoulder ability and ceiling, Brosmer might be top in his and other draft classes. He gained experience early-on in New Hampshire and later Minnesota calling three plays in the huddle, audibling as necessary, setting protections, and reading defenses. He is said to be very mature in these respects and so should be ahead of the curve as a rookie in the NFL. He has a more conservative play style, keen to avoid the negative play and occasionally going for the check-down when a longer throw might have been possible.

Here are some links to full length scouting reports:

Lance Zierlein, NFL.com

Pro Football Network

The Athletic – Dane Brugler

Also, here is the ‘elevator pitch’ summary from Matt Waldman’s scouting report:

If the intent of an NFL decision maker is to draft a quarterback in the late rounds or sign a UDFA with the most promising traits for a starter, Will Howard and Kyle McCord will be the best options of the quarterbacks still available. If the intent is landing a player who could become a quality backup and plays low-mistake football while having enough traits to help a team during a short-term crisis, Brosmer might be the wiser choice.
Brosmer has efficient and sound drop and release mechanics with only minor lapses. Brosmer’s accuracy is pinpoint in the shallow range of the field, competent in the intermediate and vertical zones. Ask Brosmer to target receivers inside 40 yards of his release point, and he can get the job done as a pinpoint passer. His best work comes as a timing passer from the pocket where he can buy time with ball fakes. Brosmer will roll from pressure. He’ll also execute small climbs in the pocket from edge pressure. When pressure pushes a running back into his lap, Brosmer will hang in there unless there’s additional interior pressure arriving unblocked. In this case, Brosmer will spin and roll, but he’s not quick enough to get away with the roll. Brosmer can reduce his shoulder, duck, and climb from pressure. He does a good job anticipating edge pressure and sliding two steps inside to create space for a target. He can make small evasive maneuvers with slides and climbs, and he can also climb in rhythm with 2-3 hitches and deliver the ball downfield.
Brosmer will take a hit from a blitzing linebacker up the middle to get off an accurate vertical shot. He must integrate his pre-snap identification of edge pressure off the blindside into his decision-making and take what’s available. Brosmer can also be reactive to flashes of potential pressure that doesn’t arrive.
Brosmer has some skills as a decision-maker. He can work sideline-to-sideline with timely reads off play-action and correctly determine the check-down is the best decision. Brosmer can hold defenders to one side of the field to set up a quick pivot and throw to the middle of the field from a route breaking from the backside.
He can deliver layered throws over linebackers up the seam with pinpoint accuracy to vertical routes. When he doesn’t recognize favorable leverage in front of him, Brosmer will opt to throw the ball away when he had a completion. Brosmer must account for the peripheral defender when targeting receivers across the field. He’s better at it when the peripheral defender is playing high or low of the intended target. He can account for peripheral defenders on multiple quick reads on each play and adjust his position subtly from pressure to give time to resolve one of those peripheral defender angles to generate a completion.
Brosmer and his receivers must be on the same page with routes over the middle. When should the receiver settle or continue his route. Brosmer has thrown interceptions because he expected one thing and the receiver did another. He’ll take a sack when the passing lane to his check-down is blocked by an end and forcing the throw is risky. He’s good at targeting the ball away from the leverage of the defenders covering the receiver. Even if he’s not pinpoint accurate under pressure with some of these throws, the ball is only where the receiver can make the play—especially in the red zone.
Although the lapses are few, Brosmer has gotten greedy where he passes up an easy shallow read with space for the receiver to run, and he winds up taking a sack because the secondary reads weren’t open. This is important because in those situations there was clear pre-snap signs of pressure from the blindside, so it’s best to presume if the first read is open, that’s all the time the QB will have.
Like most QBs, his accuracy wanes under pressure. Still, Brosmer makes enough layered throws downfield under pressure that it’s premature to write him off as a player who fizzles with defenders in his face.
I don’t see Brosmer transcending a backup role, but I like the potential he could have long-term in this capacity and without the lows that some of the higher-profile options on the board might have with their games.

Click to expand...

Videos

Below are some videos of Brosmer in action, including both college and preseason action this year.

Preseason Titans Game analysis – QB School

All 2025 Preseason Pass Attempts – All 22 Film

2024 Minnesota Gopher Highlights

2023 New Hampshire Highlights

Bottom Line

Max Brosmer had a lot more football experience than J.J. McCarthy in college and is universally described as having a high football IQ and sound throwing mechanics. In those respects he’s more NFL-ready than McCarthy was coming out. But Brosmer has athletic limitations that could give him a lower ceiling and those were largely the reason he went undrafted. He is seen as a capable backup that can play relatively mistake-free football for a backup quarterback and could have a long NFL career in that capacity but may not be able to rise above that role.

The real question with Brosmer now that he has made an NFL roster and will get an opportunity to start and perhaps even compete for the starting job, is how limiting is his physical skill set really? Some HoF quarterbacks had average-ish skill sets when it came to arm strength and running/mobile ability. They could make all the throws- and I think Brosmer can too- he just may not be able to hurl 70-yard hail marys. But he looks to have good velocity on his fast ball and nice touch on his layered throws at distances that cover 95+% of NFL throws. Outside of arm strength, is he mobile/athletic enough to maneuver in the pocket successfully and buy a little time? Plenty of top quarterbacks aren’t really a run threat but can move the chains in open space- and Brosmer can do that too.

The other question is how strong, really, are his strengths- his football IQ, processing, throwing with anticipation, accuracy, and quick release? These are the areas that separate high-end starters from failed draft picks- not the physical skill sets above a certain level. One game isn’t enough to find out the answer to all these questions, but we’ll at least get a brief eye test. His preseason tape tended to echo the scouting reports for the most part, although with more sloppy preseason play. His eight pass attempts in mop-up duty against the Bengals and Chargers were all accurate (but 3 drops) but were mostly of the dump-off variety which doesn’t show us much.

But of course it’s a different level when suddenly you’re the starter in a real NFL game for the first time. How Brosmer reacts under the lights when he’s the guy running the offense should be interesting if he indeed does start on Sunday. It will also be interesting how Kevin O’Connell game plans for him. Stay tuned.

Follow me on X/Bluesky @wludford

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/general/93163/breaking-down-max-brosmer

Minnesota Vikings · Tuesday at 1:48 PM

Vikings Rock Bottom: McCarthy Concussed, Brosmer Time

Vikings suffer worst Lambeau loss to Packers since 2007 (23-6) and J.J. McCarthy is now in concussion protocol — is this the moment Kevin O’Connell finally turns to Max Brosmer? Tyler Forness and Dave Stefano deliver the raw, unfiltered reaction every purple-blooded fan needs after Sunday’s disaster.

On the latest “The Day After” episode of The Real Forno Show (Vikings 1st & SKOL / Fans First Sports Network), Tyler and Dave dissect the historic humiliation against Green Bay and the massive quarterback crossroads the franchise now faces. With McCarthy likely missing the Seattle game and possibly more, the conversation has flipped from development to survival — and whether KOC’s job could be on the line.

Key takeaways from the episode:

The 23-6 loss was the worst Vikings home defeat to the Packers in 52 years — 187 total yards, 0-for-12 on third down, zero touchdowns

McCarthy’s concussion (self-reported after a late hit) might be the “get-out-of-jail-free card” O’Connell needed to bench him without admitting failure

Tyler argues the organization didn’t fail McCarthy — they quarterback-proofed the roster, kept him involved while injured, and gave him every resource

Justin Jefferson’s post-game frustration (“saying the same things every week… still in the same spot”) signals the locker room is slipping away

Max Brosmer’s quick release and middle-of-field accuracy fit KOC’s scheme perfectly — could be a Brock Purdy-like spark

The team showed “quit” body language after the muffed punt; Packers packed it in because they knew Minnesota had checked out

If Brosmer plays well, it becomes impossible to put McCarthy back in without losing the locker room

Listen:
View Link

Watch:

This is the most honest Vikings conversation on the internet right now. Tyler Forness and producer Dave Stefano never sugarcoat it, and that’s exactly why The Real Forno Show has become must-listen (and must-watch) content for the SKOL Nation. Subscribe on YouTube, follow on your favorite podcast platform, and join the fastest-growing Minnesota Vikings community that isn’t afraid to call it like it is.

Fan With Us!!!

Tyler Forness @TheRealForno of Vikings 1st & SKOL @Vikings1stSKOL and A to Z Sports @AtoZSportsNFL, with Dave Stefano @Luft_Krigare producing this Vikings 1st & SKOL production, the @RealFornoShow. Podcasts partnered with Fans First Sports Network @FansFirstSN.

Question for the Daily Norseman readers:

If Max Brosmer comes in against Seattle and plays clean, efficient football — win or lose — do you keep him as the starter even after McCarthy clears protocol, or is this still J.J.’s team no matter what? Sound off below!

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...s-rock-bottom-mccarthy-concussed-brosmer-time

Minnesota Vikings · Wednesday at 2:03 AM

Minnesota Vikings News and Links: We’re In More Trouble Than A Little Bit!

I have been preaching patience and hoping things would turn around but the snowball is heading down the hill and picking up speed. The QB situation is being debated and talked about all over by many parties. It is hard to really judge JJ McCarthy with so few starts but there is not a lot of positives besides the two game winning drives 4th quarters. He has shown flashes but it seems like he is just not seeing things fast enough which leads him to holding the ball and sacks. This causes some fans to blame the offensive line for some of the sacks. Obviously some of the sacks are on the line and Darrisaw getting beat by Micah Parsons is not a surprise. Parsons is an All Pro and he is going to win many snaps against any tackle.

Maybe sitting for a little while will help him? I’m not sure what they can do besides be patient. That is tough because the majority of fans want to see the team win games and possibly compete for a title. The way they built the roster led me (and plenty of others) to believe the team thought they had a good chance of competing as well.

I was a fan of bringing in a veteran to start while JJ backs him up this year. I did several different offseason plans most of which had the team keeping Darnold or Jones and even one with them signing Rodgers. Those were met with plenty of opposition which was fair at the time. Still, I held firm in the debates because he did not get to even practice last year which shows now.

I do not think it is over for him on his QB journey by any means. It is just going to take more time. The rookie contract thing does not bother me and it is something that many fine folks discuss as being important. It is only good IF you have a rookie QB who is playing well.

As Bum Phillips use to say “We’re in more trouble than a little bit”!

Minnesota Vikings News and Links

‘One of the worst halves I’ve ever watched’: FOX broadcasters blast Vikings showing

“The second half has been one of the worst halves of football I’ve ever watched,” said Davis.

“This is historically bad ball,” agreed Olsen, which came after a third quarter in which the Vikings had -10 net offensive yards.

Olsen was even more pessimistic about the Vikings’ prospects henceforth, noting that the significant amount of money spent by the team on contracts this season and their relatively tight cap space means some difficult decisions could be required in the near future.

He noted that the Vikings’ spending this season is indicative of a team that believes they’re on a major championship run after finishing 14-3 last season, but they now find themselves 4-7 with a game on the road against the surging Seattle Seahawks on the horizon.

“At this moment right now Vikings fans and the front office they have to start asking themselves if this doesn’t get better and we don’t get better offensive production, we are in tough cap situation, these contracts are going to keep holding us down, and we’re just in a bad spot,” said Olsen.

Minnesota Vikings have a major J.J. McCarthy issue, and how Kevin O’Connell handles it could make or break the franchise’s future

This season was viewed as one of growth and development for the first-time starter, but the Vikings, as they have in the three prior seasons with O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, weren’t going to punt just to focus on development. They made multiple roster moves this offseason, aiming to win now while developing a quarterback. Turns out that wasn’t the case.

We are now six games into the McCarthy era, and it hasn’t looked great. Yes, there was the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears in Week 1, when he threw two touchdowns and ran another en route to an NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. Sure, he threw a dynamite football to Jalen Nailor to seal a victory over the Detroit Lions. Outside of those two games, there hasn’t been a whole lot to be excited about.

That continued on Sunday afternoon, when McCarthy had the worst game of his career. He looked unplayable for the majority of it, throwing for 87 yards and two interceptions, including this ugly one where the ball sailed on him.
…
Perhaps a chart comparing him to his contemporaries in terms of efficiency, which is particularly important when discussing the baseline of quarterback play, will help emphasize our current position. Well, he’s the worst in the league.

View Link

…
It’s also fascinating when you look at things from a surroundings perspective. You can make the argument that no first-year starting quarterback has had better surroundings than McCarthy.

I don't understand this line of thinking. J.J. McCarthy was given:

-Top three group of weapons in the NFL
-Top-five OL in the NFL on paper
-Elite play-caller and designer in Kevin O'Connell
-Top-five defense in 2024

How is giving him all of that malpractice? https://t.co/VrH1yjfPUz

— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) November 24, 2025

Click to expand...

…
“It’s frustrating to be up here and say the same things every single week. You say the same things, expecting for something to change, and we’re still in the same spot,” said star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

At a certain point, it doesn’t matter how much you run a play in practice if you can’t execute it on Sunday.

“I think it’s more a matter of understanding how important each and every single play is,” said right tackle Brian O’Neill in the locker room. “We can run it 100 times [in practice]. But this week, how does that apply? And then, [it’s] understanding what might be asked of you on that play, and how it applies to the defense we’re going to get. What is my exact job on that play, and how do I have the best chance for success on that play?”

Vikings may have a Josh Rosen situation on their hands with J.J. McCarthy

The Vikings thought they found their franchise quarterback when they traded up to take McCarthy 10th overall in the 2024 draft. While it’s still too soon to punt on McCarthy, he’s been so bad that it’s possible that the Vikings find themselves in a situation similar to what the Arizona Cardinals were in after taking Josh Rosen 10th overall in the 2018 draft.

As a rookie, Rosen went 3-10 as a starter, completing 55.2% of his passes for 2,278 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He was sacked 45 times and produced a passer rating of 66.7 and a QBR of 24.1.

Arizona had sufficient evidence to move on from Rosen, and they selected Kyler Murray with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft, and then traded Rosen to the Dolphins for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 fifth-round pick.

McCarthy is 2-4 as a starter. He’s completed 54.1% of his passes for 929 yards, six touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He’s been sacked 21 times while posting a passer rating of 57.9 and a QBR of 24.8. His numbers are terrifyingly similar to Rosen’s from 2018, though McCarthy is being intercepted at a more alarming rate.

This Vikings season is going to cost someone their job — who will it be?

Instead, it’s been an abject disaster. J.J. McCarthy getting off to one of the worst six-game starts ever by a quarterback is the leading problem, but it’s not the only one. The free agency haul has been a disappointment. The defense doesn’t force takeaways. Special teams mistakes have been extremely costly. Everything has spiraled, especially McCarthy, during a three-game losing streak that’s dropped the Vikings to 4-7 and knocked them completely out of playoff contention. The nadir — at least for now — was reached in Sunday’s embarrassment of a performance in Green Bay.

Someone is inevitably going to take the fall for this. Perhaps multiple someones. And while we’re not going to call for anyone’s job in this space, what we can do is speculate about the logical candidates to pay the price for this smoldering mess of a season.

The most obvious person who might lose their job, in a sense, is McCarthy. He’s played so historically poorly through six games that this may just be a Josh Rosen situation where he doesn’t even get a second season as the starting quarterback. There’s still time for that to change, and McCarthy will certainly be under contract and on the roster next year no matter what. But if his production doesn’t improve over the final six weeks, there’s a real chance he’s not the Week 1 starter in 2026.

I’m not sure that can be said with nearly the same level of confidence about general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. He also just received a contract extension this offseason, but it didn’t happen as promptly as it did for O’Connell, nor does it guarantee job security. Even without giving any of the blame for the McCarthy pick to Adofo-Mensah — if you assume O’Connell was the driving force behind that decision — there are a lot of areas where the GM can be criticized.

Adofo-Mensah’s drafting remains a serious question mark, even if his recent non-McCarthy first-round picks (Jordan Addison, Dallas Turner, Donovan Jackson) mostly look good. His 2024 free agent haul (Sam Darnold, Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman) was incredible. This year’s group (Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, Will Fries, Ryan Kelly) has been extraordinarily underwhelming. Re-signing Byron Murphy Jr. can be included in that. The best free agent signing the Vikings made this offseason was pretty clearly Eric Wilson on a one-year, $2.6 million deal.

The list of roster-building misses doesn’t end there. Trading real draft capital for Adam Thielen, even if it may have made sense at the time, will go down as a major whiff. Contract extensions for T.J. Hockenson and Josh Metellus have aged poorly this season. Having Sam Howell as McCarthy’s only offseason competition doesn’t make any sense in hindsight.
…
On the coaching staff, the person whose seat would seem to be the hottest is special teams coordinator Matt Daniels. Myles Price’s punt return fumble gaffe at Lambeau Field marked three consecutive weeks where a special teams mistake has been one of the crucial, game-swinging plays in a Vikings loss. At some point, that probably has to fall on the coach responsible for that phase.

An argument can definitely be made in defense of Daniels. He’s working with a lot of young players, many of them undrafted rookies, due to the way the Vikings’ roster is constructed. When Price makes rookie mistakes like not getting out of the way of a bouncing punt or fumbling a kickoff return, it’s hard to know how much blame Daniels deserves. Is it his fault that players vacated their lanes on the Bears’ critical kick return? The excellent play of kicker Will Reichard and punter Ryan Wright is a feather in Daniels’ cap.

Vikings’ Josh Metellus Gets Honest About J.J. McCarthy’s Struggles

Per Adam Patrick of The Vikings Age, Vikings safety Josh Metellus came to the defense of J.J. McCarthy.

“I ain’t going to lie, I think [No.] 9 is playing great. When you don’t play as a full team and we don’t give each other a chance to win, quarterbacks get the blame. Just like DBs get the blame when some run pops off, we miss a tackle, and it goes for [a long gain].

It’s never [just] one guy.”

Metellus elaborated further:

“In terms of his ability to grow and develop, we’re talking about a guy who’s had six starts? I think he’s playing really well. I know he’s going to keep getting better. I know the kind of guy he is. Shout out to J.J. for being able to step in and just keep going and ignore the noise.

I don’t know too much [about] what’s going on, but I know it’s not just a QB problem. It’s an all-11 problem. Whenever we’re all on the field, we all have to play as one.”

What the tape reveals about J.J. McCarthy’s tough day in Green Bay

It’s time to go to Max Brosmer, for the sake of everyone else on the roster

J.J. McCarthy’s confidence remains ‘high’ as streak of poor play continues in Vikings’ loss to Packers

J.J. McCarthy’s biggest problem right now isn’t with his performance, and it’s a big deal for the Minnesota Vikings

10 prospects for Minnesota Vikings fans to know in the 2026 NFL Draft

Kinda Sorta Early Off Season Q&D

Cap Space Work
Carry over cap space : $14,612,211
Starting 2026 Cap space : ($37,058,572) note: carry over cap space not included here

Release or Trade O’Neill saves 19.5M in cap space – 31 years old on Sept 15, 2026
Release or Trade Hockenson saves 8.93M in cap space – 29 years old on July 3, 2026
Release Jones saves 7.2M in cap space – 31 years old on Dec 2, 2025
Release Hargrave saves 11M in cap space – 33 years old on Feb 7, 2026
Release Kelly saves 12.1M in cap space – 33 years old on May 30, 2026
Smith retires or is cut post June 1 – 37 years old on Feb 2, 2026

O’Neill has been a bit too injured of late and investing more money is probably not going to end well
Hockenson was paid like the top tight end in 2023 (or close) and has not performed well enough
Jones is old for running backs and gets dinged up often
Hargrave is aight but Redmond is and should get more snaps
Kelly is too risky

After these moves the team should have 36.3M in cap space (including the current carry over amount) and the only free agent they might consider giving an extension to is Redmond. Redmond is an Exclusive Right Free Agent who they can tender for 1.075M. I would try to extend him early though but not necessarily at the start of free agency.

Let’s say the Vikings do these moves. 36M in cap space without doing any restructures yet is not bad. You need to replace O’Neill and Hockenson. You already have Redmond playing more snaps than Hargrave. LDR has 311 snaps to Hargraves 376 snaps. The team really liked Elijah Williams so losing Hargrave may not be bad. You would need a running back to go with Mason and a couple of cornerbacks plus a safety or two. You might want to add a linebacker as well. All doable but maybe not for the high priced free agents.

But what about at QB? What to do? There was a speculation that the Vikings should trade for Mac Jones that got aggregated and now is being talked about as if they were even interested and that it is something they should do. So many “reports” are just speculation from some nimrod like myself.

Here is what I would do …

Trade a 2026 3rd round pick plus a conditional 2027 3rd round pick to the Cardinals for Kyler Murray.

Murray is due 42.5M in 2026 and 36.3M in 2027. He has a 17M roster bonus due the 5th league day in 2026 (early March) and his 2026 salary of 22.8M is gtd the 5th day as well. Also, his 19.5M 2027 salary is gtd the 5th league day in 2026. That could be negotiated in a trade though. Let’s say the team leaves those guarantees in place. They would have to pay him 79M for two years. I would want to add some void years and redo it a little to kick some dead money to 2028. If I add two void years and convert 25M of his salary and roster bonus his 2026 cap hit drops to 21.9M. I can restructure 16M of Greenard’s salary and have 29M in remaining cap space. In 2027, I can cut Allen and Metellus and have 49M in cap space.

What free agents do I like right now that wont break the bank (I think).

Travis Etienne RB – salary 6M
Jaylen Watson CB – salary 11M
Leo Chenal LB – salary 4M

I think there will be plenty of safeties and am not leaning towards spending big to get one. The team might get Nailor back at a discount due to the fact that he is not able to put up many stats due to the QB play this year. That is the tough part for a player like Nailor. He is playing for a new deal but the QBs are struggling. It might work in the Vikings favor this upcoming offseason provided that they want him back.

Yore Mock

Trade Partner: Steelers
Sent: PICK: 12
Received: PICK: 16 , Pick 77
…
Trade Partner: Jaguars
Sent: PICK: 74
Received: PICK: 82, PICK 161
…
Trade Partner: Broncos
Sent: PICK: 82
Received: PICK: 94, PICK 130
…
PICK: 16 RND: 1 Francis Mauigoa OT Miami 6’6″ 316
PICK: 43 RND: 2 Dillon Thieneman S Oregon 6’0″ 205
PICK: 77 RND: 3 Domonique Orange DL Iowa State 6’4″ 325
PICK: 94 RND: 3 Eli Stowers TE Vanderbilt 6’4″ 235
PICK: 130 RND: 4 Chris Johnson CB San Diego State 6’0″ 195
PICK: 161 RND: 5 Jacob Rodriguez LB Texas Tech 6’1″ 235
PICK: 169 RND: 5 Davison Igbinosun CB Ohio State 6’2″ 195
PICK: 206 RND: 6 Clev Lubin EDGE Louisville 6’3″ 250
PICK: 227 RND: 7 Pat Coogan C Indiana 6’5″ 311
PICK: 237 RND: 7 Bishop Fitzgerald S USC 5’11” 205

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:

While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm

No discussion of politics or religion

No feeding of the trolls

Leave the gender hatred at the door

Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)

Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags

No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer

If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...-links-were-in-more-trouble-than-a-little-bit

Minnesota Vikings · Wednesday at 2:18 PM

Vikings Reacts Survey Week 13: How Low Can We Go?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Vikings fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Well, it’s that time of the week again, ladies and gentlemen. It’s time to break out our weekly SB Nation Reacts survey about our Minnesota Vikings, and this one should be. . .let’s call it “interesting” in the wake of what we watched on Sunday afternoon.

We’ve just got the one question for you this week, and it’s our usual question about whether or not you think the purple are going in the right direction. We want the holidays to be happy for everyone, and there really wasn’t a question that we could have presented that would have done that, so we’re just sticking with the one question for this week.

As always, we invite you to make your voice heard by voting in the survey below and making your voice heard in the comments. We’ll have the results of this one for you ahead of kickoff in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.

Have at it, folks!

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...esota-vikings-sb-nation-reacts-survey-week-13

Minnesota Vikings · Thursday at 3:15 AM

Why It Should Be Brosmer’s Job to Lose the Rest of the Season

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.

The Vikings Cannot Count on McCarthy Next Season

Since the Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy, two things have become clear:

His performance has been very underwhelming.

He is not a durable quarterback.

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.

The Vikings Need to See What Brosmer Can Do

At this point it appears that McCarthy will need at least another offseason to fix his issues. Footwork/mechanics, accuracy, processing, developing touch on his passes, regaining confidence. He’s not going to be able to do all that in three practices between games the rest of the season. Certainly McCarthy needs more game experience as well, but given the issues he has right now, he needs to address those first before playing another game. He’s just not at a level where you can expect much success at this point and putting him out there in situations where he is unlikely to succeed may be counterproductive.

Which gets us to Max Brosmer.

Brosmer is a rookie and undrafted free agent looking at his first start in the NFL. Compared to most undrafted quarterbacks, Brosmer has defied expectations by simply making the roster. But getting the opportunity to start a real NFL game is something few undrafted quarterbacks get an opportunity to do. Now let’s see if he can run with it.

Brosmer had a lot more game and passing experience over his six years playing college football than McCarthy had and from his scouting reports and limited preseason action has shown that he may be further ahead with the basics than McCarthy is right now. Looking at Brosmer’s preseason tape, he appears to be a quick processor and gets the ball out fast with a quick release and has been accurate and able to layer throws with touch. He’s known for his football IQ and ability to read defenses, so that should give him an advantage over most rookies in that respect too.

So, if Brosmer is able to show competence with some starter-level ability, then he should be allowed to continue to start the rest of the season.

The reason is that the Vikings need to see if Brosmer could potentially be a starter for the Vikings next season. And that evaluation will inform the Vikings on how aggressive they need to be in finding another potential starter in the offseason, which will likely be an expensive proposition. But Brosmer is on the roster now and maybe, just maybe, he could surprise relative to his draft status. Maybe the chance of Brosmer showing he could be a starter is a small one, and maybe he’s not able to make the most of the opportunity in front of him, but the Vikings should explore him as an option before deciding what they want to do in the offseason.

There are reports of talk within the Vikings organization that Brosmer could be another Brock Purdy, who effectively had the same draft status as Brosmer (Purdy was the last pick in the draft) and Purdy got his first start in week 13 of his rookie year- just as Brosmer is likely to. But whether Brosmer turns out to be another capable starter like Purdy or not, the Vikings need to give him every opportunity to show what he can do over the rest of the season, so long as he shows he is capable and has starter-level qualities. If that proves to be the case, however unlikely, it would save the Vikings a lot of draft capital and/or salary cap next season pursuing an alternative.

We’ll see how it unfolds. The one thing for sure is that Brosmer is likely to have a trial-by-fire, facing a tough Seattle defense in one of the loudest venues in the league. And perhaps without two starting offensive linemen as well.

Stay tuned.

Follow me on X/Bluesky @wludford

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...e-brosmers-job-to-lose-the-rest-of-the-season

Minnesota Vikings · Thursday at 3:25 PM

Thanksgiving Day NFL Discussion

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who observe from all of us at The Daily Norseman! I would expect today to be a relatively light posting day for your favorite Minnesota Vikings website, but the National Football League isn’t slowing down, as we have the (now) traditional tripleheader for your viewing pleasure today.

The party will get underway in about half an hour with the first game of the day, an all-NFC North battle as the Green Bay Packers will travel to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions. These two teams opened the season against each other, with the Packers coming away with a convincing victory. Will they complete the sweep? This one will kick off at noon Central time on FOX.

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From there, we’ll move on to Jerryworld, as the second game of our doubleheader will feature the Dallas Cowboys. . .who the Vikings will see in a couple of weeks in a game that’s (currently, at least) scheduled for Sunday Night Football. . .hosting the Kansas City Chiefs. Neither of these teams would be in the playoffs if they started today, and they’re both looking to make a move in their respective divisions. This one is scheduled to get underway at 3:30 PM Central time on CBS.

The nightcap will take us to Baltimore for a matchup between two more teams that the Vikings have faced off with already this season. It will be an all-AFC North party as the Baltimore Ravens will host the Cincinnati Bengals in a game that will feature the return of Bengals’ star quarterback Joe Burrow, who has missed most of the season with a foot injury. This game will be broadcast on NBC, with a start time of 7:00 PM Central time.

If you’re going to be watching any of today’s NFL action, or you just want to take a quick break from hanging out with friends and family or whatever the case may be, feel free to drop in here and hang out with folks and talk about everything that’s happening.

Once again, have a Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy today’s games, folks!

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...n-packers-lions-chiefs-cowboys-bengals-ravens

Minnesota Vikings · Friday at 3:44 AM

2025 NFL Week 13: Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks

It’s the time of year for the Minnesota Vikings to make their (seemingly) annual trip to the Pacific Northwest, as they’ll take to the road in Week 13 to face off against one of the NFL’s best teams, the Seattle Seahawks.

These two teams put on a great game last season at this same venue, as the Vikings came from behind to win to win a thriller, 27-24. Things couldn’t be more different now, as the purple limp into this one with a record of 4-7, losers of their last three games, while the Seahawks come in with an 8-3 mark and are competing for the top spot in the NFC West and the NFC as a whole.

As we know, the man who led the Vikings to a 14-win season in 2024, Sam Darnold, is now the quarterback in Seattle. While he’s had a couple of rough outings, most notably against the Rams a couple of weeks ago, he’s still putting up very good numbers for the Seahawks this season. For the Vikings, it’s looking more and more likely that undrafted rookie Max Brosmer will get his first NFL start with J.J. McCarthy going through the concussion protocol. Will that give the Vikings any sort of a spark?

As you’d expect, the Vikings are huge underdogs heading into this one. The early line had them as a 9.5-point underdog, but that number has since ballooned to 11.5 points. Will it get bigger by Sunday afternoon? It very well could.

Kickoff for this one is scheduled for the late window on Sunday, with the broadcast slated for 3:05 PM Central time. The game will be carried by the FOX family of networks. We’ll be putting all of our coverage of this week’s game here in this stream for you, so you can check in right here for the very latest.

Vikings at Seahawks: First Injury Report

In Search of Optimism

Vikes Views: Who Ya Got? Vikings at Seahawks

Vikings Rock Bottom: McCarthy Concussed, Brosmer Time

Minnesota Vikings Odds: Vikings Huge Underdogs Against Seahawks

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...fl-week-13-minnesota-vikings-seattle-seahawks

Minnesota Vikings · Friday at 3:51 PM

ESPN is Trying to Wishcast a Justin Jefferson Trade. Again.

The Minnesota Vikings, as we’ve all seen, as struggling through this 2025 season, and while star wide receiver Justin Jefferson has still been among the league leaders in receptions (currently 13th with 60 through 11 games) and receiving yardage (currently 8th, 795 yards), he hasn’t had quite the numbers that we’ve been accustomed to him putting up over his incredible career to this point. And, even though he’s still been publicly supportive of quarterback J.J. McCarthy despite the struggles he’s had in the early stages of his career, at least one place that employs a number of the Really Smart Football People™ is attempting to fabricate something out of nothing.

Stephen A. Smith of ESPN is, once again, attempting to imply that Jefferson is somehow unhappy with the Vikings, undoubtedly hoping that Jefferson can somehow get traded to one of the seven or eight NFL teams that his employer actually cares about.

"I wouldn't blame Justin Jefferson if he asked to be traded. I'm disgusted with the Minnesota Vikings." @stephenasmith on if the Vikings are wasting Justin Jefferson's prime pic.twitter.com/yrvIrxAs63

— First Take (@FirstTake) November 27, 2025

Click to expand...

Jefferson has never, in any public setting, expressed any sort of anger or frustration with the Vikings or the team’s current situation. Quite the opposite, as he’s been quite vocal about standing behind McCarthy and insisting that the young quarterback is going to find his way through the struggles he’s currently experiencing. But that’s never stopped the Really Smart Football People™ before. If you’ll recall, while Jefferson and the Vikings were negotiating a new contract, there were any number of stories about how Jefferson and his “camp”. . .whoever that entails. . .were unhappy with the way things were going and that everyone was getting increasingly frustrated and that a trade out of Minnesota was an increasingly likely scenario.

And then Jefferson signed a deal that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the sport. Within minutes of the ink drying on the contract, it came out that. . .well, there was never really any acrimony between Jefferson and the Vikings, and the Vikings never really seriously entertained the idea of trading away their star player.

I mean, we told you that there was never any friction between Jefferson and the Vikings, but we’re just blogger trash, so who was going listen to us?

Outlets like ESPN have been wishing for Justin Jefferson to find his way to a team other than the Vikings since the Eagles graciously passed on him in the 2020 NFL Draft. But they’re just going to have to keep waiting. . .unless, of course, we suddenly see a series of cryptic messages coming from Jefferson’s Twitter/X account. If that happens, I suppose all bets are off.

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...ustin-jefferson-trade-again-minnesota-vikings

Minnesota Vikings · 2025-11-29T04:02:14-0500

Vikings on Notice: No Job is Safe

If you have been following my writing, you know that I have been a staunch supporter of J.J. McCarthy and trusting the process this season. I have tried to stay positive, even in the face of adversity, but my hope has not been rewarded. Hindsight is 20/20, and if the intention was to compete in 2025, the Minnesota Vikings made the wrong decision at quarterback.

In the land of make-believe

Sam Darnold was not the long-term answer, and neither was Daniel Jones, but we know now that McCarthy was not ready to start this season. The prevailing logic seemed to be, if he can keep improving, we can chalk it up as a success. Unfortunately, we have recently seen regression from the second-year signal caller. For success in 2025, the franchise tag on Sam Darnold may have been the best option for the Vikings, especially considering the low impact that some of the high-profile signings have provided. They could have afforded him. If that was the case, the Vikings would have been better positioned to be in the hunt for the NFC North title.

However, I think the ending would have been a familiar story: one in which the Vikings show promise in the regular season, only to completely collapse when it REALLY matters. I, for one, will accept the current reality if it can upend the trend of stinking it up in the playoffs. I am willing to suffer through a couple of lost seasons, as long as that light is at the end of the tunnel.

I have also said before that Kevin O’Connell has a vision for what he wants his offense to look like, and it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is, he won’t change his approach. We saw it at the end of last season with Darnold and this year with McCarthy. Many fans, including myself, were absolutely perplexed as to why KO wasn’t making playcalling adjustments. It’s because he believes the best way to win is by executing his offense as is (or at least that is my theory). You can call it ego, or hubris, and I don’t think you would be wrong. As much success as we have seen from this team in the last three years, you have to wonder how much of it was riding on the coattails of the previous front office.

Perhaps an unflattering comparison

For all of his flaws, Rick Spielman did hit on multiple cornerstones of this team, including, but not limited to: Justin Jefferson, Harrison Smith, Adrian Peterson, Christian Darrisaw, Brian O’Neill, and Danielle Hunter. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s drafts have garnered a few every-down starters like Jordan Addison and Donovan Jackson. I will give him credit for drafting the best kicker in the NFL, but the track record is not all that impressive, especially considering how terrible his first draft as the Vikings’ GM was. KAM did find a diamond in the rough in undrafted free agent Jalen Redmond, for which I will give him full credit.

Adofo-Mensah and Spielman do have one thing in common: they both drafted first-round quarterbacks. The parallels between the picks include horrendous play on the field and injuries. Between Christian Ponder, Teddy Bridgewater, and J.J. McCarthy, drafting a first-round quarterback has not garnered net positive results.

There are six games left in the 2025 regular season, and although the Vikings are mathematically still in the hunt for the playoffs, too many things have to happen to make that a playoff seed plausible. A loss to Seattle this weekend decreases playoff hopes to near-zero. A win provides just a glimmer of hope and buys Max Brosmer another start. If he can come in and provide a winning performance, the Vikings have to run with him as quarterback for at least one more game. If he isn’t able to provide the spark for a win, then the season is lost, and people are playing for jobs instead of the playoffs.

Who is on the chopping block?

EVERYONE. If Minnesota doesn’t start winning games at the end of the season, I don’t believe anyone is safe, and that includes Kevin O’Connell. The Wilfs cannot be happy with the on-field product we have seen this season. KO has spoken at length about creating a team that can win any type of football game, but the last two games have shown that there is a type of game we can’t win: a physical one. Last Sunday, we witnessed Emannuel Wilson absolutely bullying the Vikings’ defense for 60 minutes. The stagnant offense we saw in week 12 also isn’t anything new in the O’Connell era. As many explosive plays as the scheme produces, it has also shown stretches of inability to effectively move the football and score in the red zone.

The week before, Chicago dominated time of possession 37:00 to 23:00. The offense failed to show up for multiple quarters, and the defense gave up a deflating 15-play, 74-yard drive that lasted eight minutes and twenty-five seconds. We saw a similarly demoralizing drive from the Green Bay Packers when they marched down the field for a 14-play, 68-yard drive that lasted eight minutes and twenty-one seconds. And then the offense completely no-showed in the second half.

That is absolutely unsustainable, and the blame has to fall on Kevin O’Connell. As tough a pill as that is to swallow, that is where all the success and failure is attributed to on-field execution and performance. McCarthy has been wildly inaccurate and unable to effectively read a defense, and missing wide-open receivers rarely leads to high-level football. But is KO playing to his strengths? Is he simplifying the game for his young signal-caller? Is McCarthy just not getting it? Is he a bust? These are legitimate questions that may never be answered.

Can changing the pieces change the outcome?

Brosmer’s performance on Sunday will tell us a lot about where the fault lies. If my theory on O’Connell is true, we won’t see the Vikings offense change its approach much. It will be up to the offense to execute the game plan and sustain some drives. If Brosmer can execute the offense the way O’Connell envisions, we’ve got a shot. If he doesn’t, it’s going to be another ugly loss.

As much as I appreciate the culture that KO has built in Minnesota, he may be as much to blame as anyone else for the shortcomings of the 2025 Vikings squad. Based on appearances, Kwesi-Adofo Mensah and Kevin O’Connell have a collaborative relationship, but much like KO is responsible for the on-field product, the praise and the blame for the personnel falls on Adofo-Mensah. I don’t know if ownership would get rid of one without getting rid of the other, but if something doesn’t change starting Sunday, every loss will be one day closer to the next head coaching and GM search.

Maybe that’s dramatic, and perhaps O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah have built up enough good faith to earn one more season, but this is the NFL. Crazier things have happened, and if we don’t see this team start to show life and win some games, the competitive window might be closed, and we may be headed for a full rebuild. However, with the current cap situation, the prevailing logic should be that O’Connell, for sure, and probably Adofo-Mensah will get at least one more season the figure it out. If they don’t, I could foresee a fire sale in the 2027 off-season and a complete overhaul of the staff and roster.

Concluding Thoughts

As it stands now, I personally hope that Brosmer starts the rest of the season. That would mean that the Vikings are winning and we have some juice at the quarterback position. However, Seattle is a really good team this season, and it is going to be incredibly difficult to come home with the win. And it’s not all on the offense to win this game, but they need to do their job and possess and protect the football and score touchdowns. The defense needs to figure out how to stop the run and create turnovers. The magic from last season is dust in the wind, and it is time to see if the 2025 Minnesota Vikings are more than, less than, or exactly mediocre, which is how I would characterize their play so far this season.

I don’t care how ugly it is, but the Vikings desperately need a win. I don’t want to hear from the “we should lose for a higher draft pick” crowd. My competitive spirit would never let me argue for tanking the rest of the season. I expect this team to win, and it is their job to win. If each part of this organization can’t do their jobs, rest assured, ownership will explore all options.

Let’s get a W!

Until Next Time.

Skol.

Jesse M.

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...77/minnesota-vikings-on-notice-no-job-is-safe

Minnesota Vikings · 2025-11-29T16:07:44-0500

Minnesota Vikings News and Links: It’s Max Brosmer Time!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to watching some football this weekend. I fear the Vikings game will be painful and could get out of hand early. I know the narrative last year after the playoff loss to the Rams was Sam Darnold was not the answer and not worth 20M to 30M or more. Although, I do not think that people thought the team could be eliminated from the playoffs by December. There are some fans who are OK with a losing season as long as the team is developing the QBOTF. Most fans do not like losing seasons. Period. It is especially hard after going 14-3 last year. It has been a major disappointment this year especially at the QB position. I wanted to see something to give hope for the future. It is very tough now. I have hopes but all the eggs cannot and must not be put in one basket going forward. If the QBs next year are JJ and Brosmer, how many fans are going to be confident that the season will be successful (i.e., make the playoffs).

I do like to do mocks but not really off season plans this early. I might do one or two goof arounds but it is grim. I am already looking to next season as the rest of these games may be meaningless. A loss to Seattle would likely end the Minnesota Vikings’ playoff chances, with their odds dropping to about 1% or less. A Vikings win against the Seahawks would significantly increase their playoff odds, from around 5% to as high as 11%. There is still a chance!

I am hoping Max Brosmer has a decent game.

Minnesota Vikings News and Links

Max Brosmer Prepared for 1st NFL Start as Vikings Visit Seahawks
“You go into a locker room, and it can be cliquey sometimes, and that’s not this locker room at all,” Brosmer said. “There’s not a clique in this locker room; everyone is one big melting pot. And coming into that as a QB is really cool, where you feel like you kind of just mesh right in with the huddle and mesh around the team.

“Breaking down the team today was really cool,” he added. “Everything just felt — I felt there was a really cool unity with the team, and I’m proud and honored to be a part of that. And I’m excited for the team to go showcase that this weekend.”

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell has spoken highly of Brosmer throughout the year and did so again this week, noting his confidence in the QB goes all the way back to training camp and “watching the way he was able to efficiently run our offense” with whomever he took reps with.

“And then to have him command the huddle the way he did this week — [I’m] not sure the ball hit the ground today, just with the efficiency at which we were operating and throwing and guys were flying around,” O’Connell said. “So I think there’s confidence in Max, and like I said, I’m excited to see him as a guy that I’ve been watching behind the scenes do a lot of work and continue to just make it about the stuff that’s important.”

“I pride myself on being the most prepared guy on the field at all times,” Brosmer said. “That’s just something that I feel caters to my strengths. I was never the most athletic guy, never the strongest guy, but I felt like I could do it better with my mind on the field. And that’s playing NFL quarterback.”

“I think it’s great to have nerves because that’s what locks you in. But the nervous piece comes with anxiousness, and that’s not me. And that’s not this team,” Brosmer said. “You know, I think the nerves you grow up playing with from third and fourth grade, and you’re like, ‘I can’t wait for game day.’ Riding in the car with my mom to go play, you know, Saturday with the guys, with the kids, playing pee-wee football.”

“You have those nerves, and that’s what makes you great,” he said. “You go to the NFL, it’s the exact same thing. You have to have those nerves to play great. This team capitalizes on and owns those. That’s why we have the playmakers in this room to go win the football game.”

Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones back J.J. McCarthy
Receiver Justin Jefferson and running back Aaron Jones both acknowledged McCarthy’s struggles in the first six games of his career. Jefferson described McCarthy’s 2025 debut as “tough” but predicted improvement in the future.

“It’s early,” Jefferson said. “He’s new to the game. He’s new to the NFL. He’s learning just like everyone else has to learn as a rookie, and he obviously had to go through the mental stage of having to overcome an injury the first year. So just a tough transition for him. But I feel like just him learning these past couple games, and of course learning [during] the stretch of this season, I feel like he’s going to bounce back in a different way than everybody else is going to think so.”

Vikings underestimated the pressure placed on J.J. McCarthy
Through six NFL starts, it seems as if Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy doesn’t have it. Whatever “it” is — that thing that allows a quarterback to thrive in the NFL — it’s not there.

The numbers make that clear. Six touchdown passes, 10 interceptions, passer rating of 57.9. If he had played enough games to make the list of qualifying passing leaders through 12 weeks of the 2025 season, McCarthy would be dead last. By nearly 20 points.

He fails the eyeball test, too. McCarthy’s performances just don’t have the right overall look.

Throw in the fact that he can’t consistently avoid injury, and it adds up to McCarthy being (so far) a top-10 bust.
..
In the abstract, did it make sense to find out what they have in McCarthy? Yes. But the Vikings whiffed on the broader strategic question as to the potential impact that passing on Darnold, Jones, and Rodgers would have on the pressure cooker occupied by McCarthy.

Regardless of whether McCarthy can ever develop as a high-end NFL quarterback, the rare (and potentially unprecedented) pressure he was surely feeling may have short-circuited the process, irreparably.

That’s not an excuse for McCarthy. It’s an indictment of the Vikings, flowing directly from the perception that emerged in March among those who were dealing with the Vikings that it wasn’t clear who was making the decision as to whether the quarterback for 2025 would be Darnold, Jones, Rodgers, or McCarthy.

Put simply, there seems to be a current void of effective short- and long-term strategic thinking within the Vikings organization. Kevin O’Connell is a great head coach, able to sculpt every lump of quarterback clay into an effective performer. (Well, except one.) An NFL team needs much more than that to truly thrive.

When it comes to creating a clear path for a young quarterback to check the various boxes, the Vikings instead threw an array of obstacles in McCarthy’s path, in the form of one-at-a-time decisions that added to the expectations and the pressure. Especially after missing all of his rookie season due to a knee injury suffered in his lone preseason game last August.

Who decided it would be a good idea to turn up the heat on McCarthy, one lost veteran opportunity at a time? Did anyone within the organization consider the various factors and complications with an eye toward assessing whether it would result in, to no surprise, McCarthy thinking too much and/or trying too hard?

That brings us back to the question of who, if anyone, is even making those big decisions as it relates to the structure of the roster and the various factors and dynamics that can, and apparently did, torpedo a team that was tantalizingly close to plucking the No. 1 seed a season ago. It’s almost enough to make Vikings fans long for the days of the ill-fated Triangle of Authority.

Currently, maybe it’s a dodecahedron. Whatever the number of cooks, the absence of an Executive Chef is making the Vikings seem like a bunch of dodos as it relates to the handling of J.J. McCarthy.

Note: JJ McCarthy received a fully guaranteed $21,854,796 contract. Pressure comes with those pay checks!

J.J. McCarthy’s confidence remains ‘high’ as streak of poor play continues in Vikings’ loss to Packers
“Confidence is always high no matter what because the guys in that room, because (of) the trust and faith in my abilities,” McCarthy said. “It’s just we’ve got to put things together. We’ve got to keep putting days together, plays together and execute better at the end of the day.”

“I’ve got to be better,” McCarthy said. “I’ve got to do a lot of things better.”

“Getting on the plane and watching the film and continuing to just stack the days and wake up every single day ready to get better and just make small increments each and every day and continuing to just perfect my craft,” McCarthy said. “The weaknesses that are exposed, make sure I’m on track with those and getting back to the right spot every week.”

View Link

Vikings’ Justin Jefferson Doesn’t Hold Back About Sam Darnold
In Week 13 NFL action, the Vikings are set to hit the road to face Darnold and the Seahawks. For Justin Jefferson, it’s a tough reminder about the success that he had with Darnold last season.

Jefferson racked up 103 catches for 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024 with Darnold as his quarterback. So far this season, his numbers sit at just 60 receptions for 795 yards and two scores.

Ahead of this week’s matchup, Jefferson spoke out with some strong words about his former quarterback.

“He’s definitely balling,” Jefferson said. “It’s hard to miss it when the number one receiver is at the top in the NFL. He’s been killing it. Some people might mention the bad games he’s had, but overall, he’s leading his teams to victories. It will be tough to win in their home environment. We need to lock in, execute our plays on all three phases, and come out with the win.”

Darnold has played in 11 games this season with Seattle. He has thrown for 2,785 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while completing 69.5 percent of his passes.

McCarthy, on the other hand, has completed just 54.1 percent of his pass attempts for 929 yards, six touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Note: At least JJ has the same number of interceptions as Darnold right?

Sam Darnold’s Seahawks Are Everything the Vikings Thought They Were Building
For the first time this season, Kevin O’Connell will get to see a high-flying offense featuring a quarterback with a big arm throwing to the most productive receiver in football. Complementing that will be a defense that ranks tied for fifth in EPA allowed per play, seventh in total yards allowed, and seventh in points allowed.

Unfortunately for O’Connell, that team will be wearing navy and action green.

The Seattle Seahawks are 8-3, fielding the team the Minnesota Vikings envisioned they were building last offseason. Sam Darnold leads the NFL in yards per completion (9.3) and yards per attempt (13.5). Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the league with 1,313 yards and is on pace to become the first receiver in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 yards. And the defense is a terror, with interior defensive linemen Byron Murphy and Leonard Williams leading the team with six sacks apiece.

It’d be painful enough to see them have this kind of success with Darnold one season after he led the Vikings to a 14-3 record, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns. But Minnesota is 4-7 in large part because of its inept passing attack that ranks 28th in total yards.
…
Minnesota’s lack of a passing game is also affecting Justin Jefferson, who is publicly saying all the right things despite having the worst statistical season of his career. He has caught 60 passes for 795 yards, which still ranks eighth in the league, but has only two touchdowns. Jefferson has gone six straight games without reaching 100 yards, a mark he has only exceeded twice this season (both with Wentz under center).

Jefferson is averaging roughly 72.3 yards per game, which isn’t bad for most receivers and is 10 yards above the 61.9-yard average from WR1s across the league. Still, it’s well below his NFL-record 93.5 receiving yard average over his career, and he entered the season averaging 96.5. Jefferson hasn’t publicly criticized the situation yet, but could that change Sunday when he witnesses the NFL’s most productive receiver playing for the opposing team?
…
Defensively, the Vikings have been good enough to win, but far from the dominant force they believed they could be when they added Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in March. The veteran defensive tackles were supposed to give the Vikings the kind of interior pass rush that the Seahawks have.

Allen and Hargrave appeared to make Harrison Phillips expendable. However, they haven’t pressured quarterbacks (43 combined pressures and 5.5 sacks) and aren’t as consistent in stopping the run. The Vikings are tied for 19th in EPA allowed per run (-0.03) after ranking first in 2024 (-0.17) and tied for 13th in 2023 (-0.10) despite lacking star power.

The Vikings rank 11th in total yards allowed and 18th in points allowed. That’s adequate defense, and perhaps a more productive offensive attack would help force opposing teams into riskier approaches.

Sam Darnold: Grateful for time with Vikings, excited to keep building with Seahawks
“I’m very grateful for the time that I spent there,” Darnold said, via the team’s website. “All the people that I created relationships with, all the people in that locker room, all the coaches there, the people in that building, but I am very excited to be here and to continue doing what we’re doing this year.”

Vikings score predictions for Week 13 trip to face Darnold, Seahawks
Joe Nelson: Vikings 38, Seahawks 13
The truth about J.J. McCarthy being a bust and Max Brosmer beginning a heroic journey begins, as the undrafted rookie throws for 300 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Vikings to a shocking blowout victory. Sam Darnold throws four interceptions. The world rights itself in three hours, leaving nothing more than questions about who will trade for McCarthy in the offseason.

Editor’s note: Joe does not ever pick Vikings losses, a strategy that worked better for him last season than in this one. The last time a double-digit NFL underdog won by at least 25 points was in 2008.

Insider floats surprising QB reunion as ‘ideal fit’ for Vikings
In a look at the latest buzz surrounding teams heading into Week 13, Fowler noted that Minnesota’s quarterback issues will affect their 2026 plans. Fowler wrote that executives around the league are wondering whether the Vikings will bring in a “veteran/reclamation project” QB to compete with McCarthy next season, like the Colts did with the Daniel Jones-Anthony Richardson situation.

It’s Jones who Fowler sees as an “ideal fit” for the Vikings, adding that Minnesota “really liked Jones, and their situation will be far different than the one from a year ago.” Though after an incredible 2025 season, in which he has the Colts sitting in third place in the AFC through 12 weeks with an 8-3 record, Jones is likely to be the envy of a lot of QB-needy teams this offseason. That’s if, and it’s a massive if, Indianapolis lets him walk after the season.

Vikings could revisit this 2022 draft name if free agency plays out right in 2026
Four years later, Linderbaum makes even more sense for the Vikings. He’s a proven commodity in a good offense, and Baltimore recently declined his fifth-year option for 2026, which opens the door for him to test free agency next spring.

Note: Let the dreaming begin. No chance that Linderbaum would want to come to Minnesota unless the QB situation improves dramatically. Not many free agents will sign up for losing unless they are getting a pretty big bag.

Yore Mock

Trade Partner: Chiefs
Sent: Pick: 43
Received: Pick: 45, Pick 153
…
Trade Partner: Texans
Sent: Pick: 45
Received: Pick: 49, Pick 117
…
Trade Partner: Commandos
Sent: Pick: 153, Pick 227
Received: Pick: 146
…
Pick 12 Spencer Fano OT Utah 6’6″ 308
Pick 49 Dillon Thieneman S Oregon 6’0″ 205
Pick 74 Julian Neal CB Arkansas 6’2″ 208
Pick 97 Eli Stowers TE Vanderbilt 6’4″ 235
Pick 117 Nick Singleton RB Penn State 6’0″ 224
Pick 146 Kenyatta Jackson EDGE Ohio State 6’6″ 265
Pick 164 Logan Jones IOL Iowa 6’3″ 302
Pick 207 Bryce Lance WR North Dakota State 6’3″ 209
Pick 237 Red Murdock LB Buffalo 6’1″ 240

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:

While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm

No discussion of politics or religion

No feeding of the trolls

Leave the gender hatred at the door

Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)

Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags

No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer

If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...a-vikings-news-and-links-its-max-brosmer-time

Minnesota Vikings · 2025-11-30T04:12:16-0500

Daily Norseman Staff NFL Picks, Week 13

It’s time to make the picks, ladies and gentlemen! There are a handful of games already in the books, and we’ll get to our selections for those. . .even though they’re a bit ugly. . .as well as the rest of the picks for Week 13 right now.

First, as always, here’s our running tally of how all of our selectors are doing this season. You can take a look at any individual week or the entire season in any of the categories we’re making picks in.

With that, we are on to the picks for this week. As always, we remind you that picks for over/unders and spread picks might vary a bit based on when each individual selector punched their picks into the system that our friends at Tallysight have provided. For the latest lines and numbers, be sure to check in with your sportsbook of choice.

Unanimous Picks

Jacksonville Jaguars over Tennessee Titans

Los Angeles Rams over Carolina Panthers

Miami Dolphins over New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers over Cleveland Browns

Buffalo Bills over Pittsburgh Steelers

Los Angeles Chargers over Las Vegas Raiders

Denver Broncos over Washington Commanders

New England Patriots over New York Giants

Kansas City Chiefs over Dallas Cowboys (everyone gets it wrong)

Philadelphia Eagles over Chicago Bears (everyone gets it wrong)

5-1 Picks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Arizona Cardinals (Eric dissenting)

Indianapolis Colts over Houston Texans (Chris dissenting)

Seattle Seahawks over Minnesota Vikings (Shawn dissenting)

Detroit Lions over Green Bay Packers (Shawn dissenting. . .and getting it right)

Baltimore Ravens over Cincinnati Bengals (GA Skol dissenting. . .and getting it right)

4-2 Picks

Atlanta Falcons over New York Jets (Eric and Sam dissenting)

3-3 Picks

No 3-3 picks this week

Yeah. . .Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday really weren’t kind to our picks. Are we going to bounce back over the course of the rest of the week? We’ll have to see.

But those are the picks for this week, ladies and gentlemen. Who are you rolling with in Week 13?

Source: https://www.dailynorseman.com/minne...man-staff-nfl-picks-week-13-minnesota-vikings

News Vikings Team Notes

Face of the Franchise

Face of the Franchise

Face of the Franchise

Face of the Franchise

The Difficult Path Ahead​

Huge Challenge for Kevin O’Connell​

Regime Survival May Depend on Making It Right​

Face of the Franchise

Face of the Franchise

Early Life and College Experience​

Consensus Scouting Report​

Videos​

Bottom Line​

Face of the Franchise

Key takeaways from the episode:​

Listen:​

Watch:​

Fan With Us!!!​

Question for the Daily Norseman readers:​

Face of the Franchise

Minnesota Vikings News and Links​

Kinda Sorta Early Off Season Q&D​

Yore Mock​

Face of the Franchise

Face of the Franchise

The Vikings Cannot Count on McCarthy Next Season​

The Vikings Need to See What Brosmer Can Do​

Face of the Franchise

Join the conversation!​

Face of the Franchise

Face of the Franchise

Face of the Franchise

In the land of make-believe​

Perhaps an unflattering comparison​

Who is on the chopping block?​

Can changing the pieces change the outcome?​

Concluding Thoughts​

Face of the Franchise

Minnesota Vikings News and Links​

Yore Mock​

Face of the Franchise

Unanimous Picks​

5-1 Picks​

4-2 Picks​

3-3 Picks​

The Difficult Path Ahead

Huge Challenge for Kevin O’Connell

Regime Survival May Depend on Making It Right

Early Life and College Experience

Consensus Scouting Report

Videos

Bottom Line

Key takeaways from the episode:

Listen:

Watch:

Fan With Us!!!

Question for the Daily Norseman readers:

Minnesota Vikings News and Links

Kinda Sorta Early Off Season Q&D

Yore Mock

The Vikings Cannot Count on McCarthy Next Season

The Vikings Need to See What Brosmer Can Do

Join the conversation!

In the land of make-believe

Perhaps an unflattering comparison

Who is on the chopping block?

Can changing the pieces change the outcome?

Concluding Thoughts

Minnesota Vikings News and Links

Yore Mock

Unanimous Picks

5-1 Picks

4-2 Picks

3-3 Picks