Copyright Nbc Sports
J.J. McCarthy still is not ready. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced in his Tuesday press conference that Carson Wentz will make another start at quarterback this week as the team plays the Chargers in Los Angeles. McCarthy went through a workout on Tuesday morning to gauge the health of the sprained ankle that has kept him sidelined for Minnesota’s last four games. “J.J., the medical staff, myself — we’re all kind of encouraged about where he’s at and the progress he’s making. But he’s just not there,” O’Connell said. “And if this were a Sunday game, maybe it would be a little bit different story, and we could push it throughout the week and see where he’s at toward the end of the week.” But playing on Thursday, it’s already effectively about 48 hours before the game. And the Vikings have to travel from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in the next 24 hours. “So, we wanted to have a plan at the quarterback position, and it’ll be very similar to last week: Carson will start, Max [Brosmer] will be the backup, and J.J. will be available in the case of emergency as the third,” O’Connell said. “And, like I said, encouraged about where he’s at and very much looking forward to continuing his progression and hopefully having a chance to go next week.” The Vikings will have a longer time to prepare before traveling to Detroit to play the division rival Lions in Week 9. In his four starts, Wentz has completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,072 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. McCarthy completed 58.5 percent of his throws for 301 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in the season’s first two weeks.
