Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz has been placed on the Injured Reserve, a week after the quarterback and team were battered and bruised in Primetime at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Wentz will miss the minimum of 4 games with a shoulder injury and is reported to go undergo surgery as well.
Wentz started 5 games for the Vikings in relief of the injured J.J. McCarthy. Before the injury, Wentz compiled a 2-3 record with wins over the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns with losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Chargers. In the 5 starts Wentz finished with 110 completions for 1,216 yards, 6 Touchdowns, 5 Interceptions, at a 65.1% completion percentage.
Wentz had his highs and lows during the short stint with the Vikings, including the wins over Cincinnati and Cleveland, as well as nearly coming back against his former team the Eagles. Two things plagued Wentz during this stint, one being his fault, and one not his fault.
Wentz was seen multiple times, holding on to the ball too long, taking unnecessary hits, and refusing to throw the ball when under pressure. This led to multiple turnovers, and stalled drives for the Vikings offense, and led to the team needing to rely on the leg of Will Reichard to score points.
What’s NOT his fault, is the performance of the offensive line. Wentz was sacked 19 times during his 5 games with the Vikings. Taking that many hits, every single week eventually wears on a persons body. Whether its Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, or Jalen Hurts behind the line, they wouldn’t be able to produce any points or win in that kind of spot. Until the Vikings offensive line fixes the problems it has, no matter who is behind center, that quarterback will always be hovering around the injury report.
J.J. McCarthy will make his return to the starting lineup this Sunday when the Vikings travel to Detroit to take on the Lions in an NFC North matchup. Max Brosmer will assumedly be the teams backup this week, and a question that will remain will be if the Vikings go and trade and or sign a veteran quarterback to backup McCarthy in case the injury bug bites him again.
Photo Credit; Minnesota Vikings, the NFL, NFL Players Association
Comments