The Minnesota Vikings are facing a precarious position this year. They’re watching their veteran quarterback, Carson Wentz, recuperate in a sling while their franchise bet, JJ McCarthy, faces boos at home and mounting questions about his future. But the latest injury update from Wentz sounds positive.

Carson Wentz put up an Instagram story with a picture of his left arm in a sling. He also dropped a short message in it, which felt like a solid update.

“Just trying to soak up this extra family time post surgery,” he shared. “Surgery went great btw. Road to Recovery!”

The surgery repaired the left shoulder that Wentz dislocated during Minnesota’s Week 5 win over the Cleveland Browns. It was a torn labrum and fractured socket that he played through for two more games before his body finally demanded attention in Week 8. 

That London game against the Browns showed everything about Wentz’s toughness: he went 9-of-9 on a game-winning drive, threading the winning touchdown to Jordan Addison with 25 seconds remaining, all while his shoulder was damaged in its socket.

Wentz’s journey has been rough. He’s a 10-year veteran who signed with Minnesota in August as emergency depth. He then started five games he never expected to play. Against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8, he took five sacks and absorbed visible punishment, then told reporters afterward it was probably the worst pain he’d ever played through.

He now remains on season-ending injury reserve, waiting to get back to the game. Whether he continues with the Vikings remains an open question for 2026. Meanwhile, the Vikings are left to navigate a season’s struggles with their sophomore quarterback, JJ McCarthy.

Vikings’ QB questions grow as J.J. McCarthy struggles

While Wentz heals at home, Minnesota is discovering what happens when you bet everything on a young quarterback without a safety net.

JJ McCarthy’s recent struggles have turned ugly: he completed 16 of 32 for 150 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions against the Chicago Bears; passes sailed over Justin Jefferson’s head; and boos rained down from the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd. The 19-17 loss dropped the Vikings to last place in the NFC North, and suddenly, nobody knows what comes next.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked directly about potentially benching McCarthy. His answer? Not a vote of confidence exactly, but more like a coach buying time.

“Yeah, I’m not going to get into any of that right now,” O’Connell said.

To be fair, O’Connell kept coaching through the chaos, repeatedly telling McCarthy “feet and eyes, feet and eyes” as frustration mounted.

McCarthy found encouragement in a 10-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that gave Minnesota the lead with 50 seconds left, even if Chicago’s game-winner rendered it meaningless.

The progress is there. If he can find calm, the mechanics might follow. But Minnesota doesn’t have the luxury of patience. They made 2025 about their second-year quarterback. Now they’re living with it, watching McCarthy navigate growing pains with undrafted rookie Max Brosmer as the primary backup, while the Vikings also added veteran John Wolford to the practice squad for extra depth after Wentz’s surgery.

No surprise, O’Connell won’t commit to anything publicly yet. But the door stays open, and the questions keep coming. And somewhere, Carson Wentz is healing, knowing he kept the ship afloat just long enough to set the expectations that now McCarthy is struggling to match up to.