Carson Wentz to Start for Vikings, His Boyhood Team, in Relief of Injured McCarthy

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz will suit up for his boyhood team for the first time on Sunday.

With J.J. McCarthy expected to miss several weeks due to a high ankle sprain, Wentz will step in as the Vikings’ starter. Sunday’s game will mark the sixth team Wentz has started for in as many seasons, after beginning his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. At a Sept. 17 press conference, Wentz said that experience has helped broaden his perspective and will be useful when he takes the field.

“It’s exciting,” said Wentz. “It’s [been a] pretty fast-paced last couple weeks for me. It’s been fun to see J.J. and interact with him and kind of be a part of what they’ve been doing here this whole offseason, and it’s a bummer, obviously, what happened to him. [I’ve] been there more times than I care to admit. But it’s been fun to see how he’s responded already.”

Injuries dogged Wentz for most of his career. After starting 13 games for the Eagles in the 2017 season, Wentz tore his ACL in a game against the Los Angeles Rams. Backup Nick Foles would eventually lead the Eagles to their first Super Bowl win at the end of that season. He played just 11 games in 2018 due to a back injury, then was benched in favor of Jalen Hurts in the 2020 season and later traded to the Indianapolis Colts. With the Washington Commanders in 2022, Wentz suffered an injury to his throwing hand but stayed on the bench due to Taylor Heinicke’s success until the final two games of the season.

After signing with the Los Angeles Rams in the middle of the 2023 season, Wentz played in the final regular season game as the Rams rested their starters for the playoffs. He led the Rams to a 21-20 road victory over the division rival San Francisco 49ers. He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024 and played in their season finale after they locked up the top spot in the AFC. The Chiefs were shut out by the Denver Broncos, 38-0.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s been a couple years since I played in a game like this with real consequences,” Wentz said. “So [I’m] really excited for it.”

In the past two seasons, Wentz has served as the backup to two superstars with Super Bowl-winning pedigrees: Matthew Stafford in L.A. and Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.

“Getting to see it done at a very high level has given me some perspective,” he said. “Also just the perspective of not taking this for granted. You never know when your next chance is going to be in this league. The league’s hard. Two years ago, I was at home until mid-November. It’s not something I want to take lightly or take for granted.”

Wentz was signed by Minnesota late last month and said it has been a whirlwind trying to learn the ins and outs of head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense. But the veteran said he feels great physically and that his coaches have tried to bring him along as fast as possible.

“Once we went out there and practiced, it was a Wednesday practice, and I kind of fell right back into that same routine I’ve had for 10 years now.”

Wentz has some familiarity with the offense. O’Connell is a disciple of Rams head coach Sean McVay, and Wentz said he has observed O’Connell from afar. But he’s also familiar with the Vikings. Wentz grew up in North Dakota, where the Vikings are the closest team. He said Wednesday that he had put his hometown loyalties to the side due to the business of the NFL, but admitted that Sunday would be an emotional moment for him.

“I used to cheer for the guys that I’m walking down the hallway seeing,” he said. “Used to come to the Metrodome, and I was waving the towel, I was, part of the ‘Sköl’ chants, all the things. And so running out of that tunnel this week will probably hit me a little bit different, in a really cool, kind of surreal way.”