Insiders report on timeline for Carson Wentz, injured J.J. McCarthy

Recent reports from national NFL insiders have added some detail to the expected timeline for a couple key players in the Vikings' quarterback room.

Carson Wentz will make his first start for the Vikings on Sunday afternoon, and he's set to get another one when Minnesota takes on the Steelers in Dublin in Week 4. However, injured starter J.J. McCarthy (ankle) will go on the team's two-week European trip, and he could potentially return as soon as Week 5 against the Browns in London. The Vikings have a bye in Week 6.

ESPN's Adam Schefter, who was first to report a 2-to-4 week timeline for McCarthy's high ankle sprain, said Sunday morning that the 22-year-old will make the trip overseas. Per Tracy Wolfson of CBS, who will be on the sidelines during today's game against the Bengals, the expectation is that McCarthy returns in Week 7 against the Eagles, but the timeline has some flexibility.

"JJ McCarthy (high ankle sprain) didn’t go on IR bc he would’ve had to miss 4 games," Wolfson posted on X/Twitter. "He will be in Europe with the team the next two weeks and rehab there. Expectation is he gets the bye week after to recover and then returns vs Eagles. Timeline can be moved up if he feels good though."

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler wrote that Wentz "has been operating as if he’s got the next two weeks as the starter, per source, with nothing promised beyond that."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport also said Wentz is "expected" to get the start in Dublin. "Could actually get the following start in London, we shall see."

How soon McCarthy gets the QB1 job back will likely depend on multiple factors. The first is simply the health of his ankle and how quickly he's ready to be back on the field. The other is how Wentz performs in the role. If Wentz — who grew up cheering for the Vikings — lights it up and is leading the team to wins, it might be difficult for the Vikings to take him out and go back to McCarthy, who struggled for seven of the first eight quarters of his NFL career.

On the one hand, McCarthy very clearly needs reps for his development. They picked him 10th overall last year, and they need to give him plenty of leash to find out if he's going to be their franchise QB for years to come. On the other hand, this is a veteran-laden team that's ready to win right now, and Wentz's resume gives him far more intriguing upside than the average backup quarterback.

The timing is interesting as well. From a health standpoint, it might be ideal for the Vikings to hold McCarthy out through the bye, which would give him over a month to get back to 100 percent. However, a return against the Browns in Week 5 would be a much more favorable matchup for easing him back into action than a game against the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in Week 7. McCarthy coming on the international trip opens up the possibility of him playing against Cleveland in a couple weeks, depending on how things go between now and then.

There's also this question: If Wentz plays well and leads the Vikings to three straight wins heading into the bye, can they really bench him for that Eagles game on October 19?

It's going to be fascinating to see how this situation plays out. First, let's see how Wentz plays against the Bengals.

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