Max Brosmer may be on the verge of making Gophers history with the Vikings

Gophers quarterbacks taking meaningful snaps in the NFL is extremely rare.

Oct 23, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer (12) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

One year ago, Max Brosmer was leading the Gophers to an upset win over No. 11 USC and nearly leading Minnesota over then-No. 4-ranked Penn State. Now he's preparing for what could be his first NFL start when the Vikings visit the Seahawks on Sunday.

It's not guaranteed that Brosmer will start, but with the Vikings placing J.J. McCarthy in the concussion protocol, the undrafted rookie from the University of Minnesota is the next man up for a beleaguered Vikings squad.

"A ton of confidence in Max. All he’s done since he’s been here is show up every single day and respond and answer the bell, whether it’s stepping in for some reps when guys were dinged up previously this year with the first group," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said. "Or if you look at it from a standpoint of what his absorption of the offense was throughout his first day here all the way through training camp, playing in some of those games, playing against the Titans’ first-team unit in that preseason game defensively and moving the team and getting the ball out and seeing things at a veteran level type of eye progression."

Brosmer has been McCarthy's since Carson Wentz went on season-ending injured reserve with a shoulder injury following Minnesota's mid-October loss to the Chargers.

Who was the last Gophers quarterback to take meaningful snaps in an NFL game?

Adam Weber? No. He was a practice squad guy. Tanner Morgan? Nothing more than some preseason snaps. Cory Sauter? He threw nine passes in his career, all in Week 17 of a meaningless game for a four-win Chicago Bears team in 2002. Tony Dungy? He was great for the Gophers, but played defensive back in the NFL.

Chris Streveler and Spergon Wynn had very short stints with the Gophers and while they played some quarterback in the NFL, it wasn't much. Before them, you have to go back to Mike Hohensee, who started two games for the Bears in 1987.

Brosmer made his NFL debut in garbage time of the Vikings' blowout win over the Bengals in Week 3. That game was out of hand, and he was playing with second and third-stringers. If Brosmer starts in Seattle, he'll be throwing passes to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

Brosmer lit it up for the Vikings in the preseason, throwing for 364 yards, two touchdowns, and 1 interception over three games. He completed 60.3% of his attempts. It was good enough to make the 53-man roster over Brett Rypien, and now he has his chance to make a mark in a big spot.

"I think we all have a lot of confidence in Max. Ideally, you’d love to have a bunch of runway for him to continue on his journey, but I know Max will prepare like crazy, like he does every week. He’s been a snap away here since Carson went on IR. And I know he feels very much prepared if called upon," O'Connell said.

"He’s gonna go about the week as he’s been doing, which is important for a guy that is one snap away as a young player. How many reps can we steal pre-practice, post-practice, he does all the little things to try to get himself ready if he were to be called upon. That may be indeed this week. We don’t know yet, but we’ve gotta prepare our team for sure."