The Minnesota Vikings have returned from their European vacation where they spent two weeks and played a pair of International Games in Ireland and London. They split those two results, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers and beating the Cleveland Browns before enjoying their bye week after their return.
They get back in action today, and they will again be led by Carson Wentz, a quarterback who is like the object of a magician's trick on stage. You never know what hat, box or curtain he is going to pop out of or appear behind next. He has started for six different teams in the NFL, which is the most for any quarterback in history. Over the past five seasons, he has not spent more than one campaign with the same team, and this year is backing up J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota.
Turns out, backing up the Vikings second-year quarterback is a full-time job. Last year, the Vikings signed Sam Darnold to back up McCarthy in his rookie season, and the veteran replaced the injured McCarthy before the season started and led the Vikings to their second most regular season wins in franchise history, 14. For the record, the Vikings team with the most wins was the 1998 team that won 15 and were eliminated in the playoffs by the Atlanta Falcons.
Despite his sterling season running the Vikings offense last season, Minnesota was not willing to pay Darnold the paycheck he earned based on his solid year after six seasons of toiling in the NFL without much success. You can’t blame them, they were fully committed to McCarthy to be their franchise leader and expected to have him back this season to take the reins of the Vikings offense. Darnold moved on to the Seattle Seahawks and has continued to play well.
The Vikings, meanwhile, again find McCarthy unable to go based on injuries. This year his injury is not yet season ending, but recent history tells us that McCarthy staying off the injury list is akin to a kid not eating a piece of candy left unattended on the kitchen table.
So, Wentz adds the Vikings to the list of teams he has started for which includes the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders, Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs. Drafted in the first round out of North Dakota State in 2016 by the Eagles, Wentz had the look of a longstanding franchise quarterback when he was leading the Eagles with Most Valuable Player credentials into December when his fabulous sophomore season ended with an injury suffered against the Los Angeles Rams on December 10, 2017.