The Minnesota Vikings revamped their quarterback room with the addition of Kyler Murray in free agency to compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job. Now, they are adding another familiar face to the mix. The club announced on Thursday that it has re-signed veteran signal-caller Carson Wentz. NFL Media reports it’s a one-year deal.
Wentz, 33, initially signed with Minnesota last August and began the year as the backup to McCarthy. After McCarthy went down with an injury, however, the veteran quarterback found himself thrust back into a starting role. In his five starts, the Vikings were 2-3, and Wentz completed 65.1% of his passes with a passer rating of 85.8.
Wentz put up those numbers despite mostly playing through a shoulder injury he reportedly suffered in the Vikings Week 5 matchup against the Cleveland Browns in London. Despite the injury, Wentz played the following two weeks before the shoulder injury before his shoulder injury forced him out of a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8. He was then placed on injured reserve and underwent surgery to repair his left shoulder.
Over those initial three games before the shoulder injury became a factor, Wentz did put up strong totals, completing 69% of his passes, averaging 253 yards passing per game, had five touchdowns to just two interceptions, and a 99.5 passer rating. In the two full games he dealt with the shoulder ailment, Wentz’s totals naturally dipped.
|
Week 3-5 |
2-1 |
69.0% |
253.0 |
5-2 |
99.5 |
|
Week 7-8 |
0-2 |
59.4% |
228.5 |
1-3 |
65.9 |
Had Wentz stayed healthy, the story of Minnesota’s eventual 9-8 season may have been entirely different, and they could’ve found themselves in the playoffs. That said, Wentz now re-enters the fold, likely set to serve as a veteran backup with Murray and McCarthy primed to duke it out this summer for the starting job.
The 2026 campaign will be Wentz’s 11th season in the NFL. The former No. 2 overall pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016 out of North Dakota State is 49-49-1 over his 99 career regular-season starts and has a career passer rating of 89.1.
