Undrafted rookie Max Brosmer is one snap away from Vikings QB debut

Brosmer shocked the world when he made the 53-man roster. Now he's one snap away from being the most important player on the team.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer (12) signals to his team during the first quarter of an NFL pre-season game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With J.J. McCarthy expected to miss multiple games with a sprained right ankle, there are two very interesting storylines developing in the Minnesota Vikings quarterback room.

1. Carson Wentz gets his chance to become Randall Cunningham 2.0
2. Max Brosmer is one snap away from a highly unlikely opportunity

Wentz enters the picture as the de facto starter with McCarthy injured, giving him a chance to revive a career that was electrifying from 2017 to 2019 with the Eagles and then solid again with the Colts in 2021. Since then, he's faded into the world of backups and taken on the role of a journeyman QB by playing for the Commanders, Rams, Chiefs and now the Vikings.

Considering Wentz's extensive injury history, Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings are very much aware that Brosmer is just one snap away from getting an opportunity to play in his rookie season after going undrafted.

"Yeah, I think you're kind of going back to how we talked about him in training camp, and how he came out of some of those great games with pretty high marks and grades for his personal execution, some of the instinctive things he did, his physical skill set of being a really fundamentally sound, kind of twitchy, accurate passer, and being able to be a fast decision-maker," O'Connell said Monday when asked if he's comfortable with Brosmer as the backup.

"All those things bode well, but, no, there's, there's clearly — you'd love to have a little bit more experience there, but that's the nature of wanting to have a good, really good, young, developing player that you bring in in the undrafted process. He’s on our roster, and he's going to be a snap away, and I know Max will be prepared. That's what we’ve kind of learned quickly about him from the very first day he was here."

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In June, before Brosmer threw for 364 yards and two touchdowns during the preseason, O'Connell said the former Minnesota Gophers quarterback is "as smart as any young player that I've been around."

"He's high capacity from a thinking standpoint, but yet, he's one of those guys that can go out and apply the thinking really fast," O'Connell said about Brosmer following Minnesota's preseason finale against Tennessee. "To be able to hit the ground running the way he did with his opportunities in training camp gave him more opportunities."

Brosmer will need to be ready to play Sunday against the Bengals and when the Vikings face the Steelers and Browns in Weeks 4 and 5 as they travel overseas to play in Dublin and London. Not only because it's his job, but because Wentz has a history of being injured.

• 2015: Broken wrist while playing at North Dakota State
• 2016: Rib fracture in the preseason as a rookie with the Eagles
• 2017: Torn ACL and LCL ended his second season with the Eagles
• 2018: Stress fracture in his back ended his third season with the Eagles
• 2020: Concussion in the season finale with the Eagles
• 2021: High ankle sprain in Week 2 with the Colts (played through it)
• 2022: Broken finger on his throwing hand with the Commanders

Something as simple as Wentz hitting his hand on an opposing player's helmet, like he did to break a finger in 2022 with the Commanders, could put Brosmer in the game.

It's unclear how many undrafted quarterbacks have played in a game, much less started, during their true rookie season, but it can't be many. The last guy to do it was Tommy DeVito, who starred at Illinois as a college QB in 2022 and then signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He wound up playing in nine games as a rookie (six starts). He threw for more than 1,100 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions as the Giants when 3-3 in his six starts.

The most notable undrafted quarterbacks in NFL history are Kurt Warner, Warren Moon and Tony Romo, though all of them had at least some professional football experience before being thrown into the spotlight.

Warner played four years in the Arena Football League before leading the Rams to the Super Bowl in 1998-99 as a rookie. Moon played six seasons in the Canadian Football League before blossoming into a Hall of Fame QB in the NFL. Romo signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and he didn't take a snap in an NFL regular-season game until 2006.

McCarthy's injury opened the door for Wentz, and the door could open just as quickly for Brosmer.

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