Quarterback Max Brosmer ‘the guy’ again as he prepares for his first Vikings start

After a camp practice this summer, Vikings rookie quarterback Max Brosmer revealed something about his obsessive preparation, the product of which will be on display Sunday during his first NFL start against the Seahawks.

Brosmer said he “lives” at the team’s facility and texted questions to his position coach Josh McCown at all hours. And his veteran teammates, who at the time were Sam Howell and Brett Rypien, told him to maybe reconsider asking too much of McCown knowing how much he was pouring into J.J. McCarthy, a first-round draft pick.

“We all kind of came out of college being ‘the guy,’ right?” Brosmer said in August. “So you kind of have the quarterback coach whenever you need him.”

Brosmer is “the guy” again. At least he will be Sunday at Seattle.

McCarthy has been ruled out while in the concussion protocol. McCarthy, who was sacked five times against the Packers, reported symptoms after the team’s flight back from Green Bay last week. He was limited in practices throughout the week.

O’Connell said “there’s confidence” in Brosmer after the 24-year-old’s work habits led to positive results since arriving this spring as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Minnesota, where he spent the 2024 season.

“This has been something that dates back to training camp,” O’Connell said Friday, “and just watching the way he was able to efficiently run our offense no matter who he was in the huddle with. To have him command the huddle the way he did this week, I’m not sure the ball hit the ground today just with the efficiency at which we were operating and throwing.”

The Vikings will have just two quarterbacks against the Seahawks. Desmond Ridder, who signed to the practice squad on Thursday, will not suit up. Ridder signed to give them another arm in practices, O’Connell said.

Coaches have praised Brosmer’s level of on-field processing for an inexperienced NFL quarterback. Brosmer, who played five years at the University of New Hampshire, credits preparation that fueled his rise from the FCS to the Big Ten and now a starting NFL huddle.

“I pride myself on being the most prepared guy on the field at all times,” Brosmer said Friday. “That caters to my strengths. I was never the most athletic guy, never the strongest guy, but I felt like I could do it better with my mind on the field. That’s playing NFL quarterback, in my opinion.”

Actually taking snaps and making throws in games is more difficult than in practice and in theory. In his first professional test, Brosmer gets a sixth-ranked Seahawks defense surrendering the third-fewest net yards per throw (5.1), which takes into account sack yardage.

“Everyone’s an All-Pro when you’re not taking the reps,” Brosmer said. “It was a wake-up moment, a reality of getting back in the swing of things as ‘the guy.’ It felt like we all handled it pretty well. The huddle was great this week.”

“If you had Max in the room right now,” Harbaugh said, “and you said two years ago when I called him, if he would have been starting in Week 13 his rookie year, I think he would have looked at you like you were crazy.”

Blake Brandel replaced first-round draft pick Donovan Jackson at left guard against the Packers, and he will stay in the lineup against the Seahawks. Jackson was ruled out Friday after not practicing this week due to an ankle injury suffered when Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons collided into the back of Jackson’s legs while sacking McCarthy last week.

Safety Josh Metellus finally thought he was out of the trainer’s room this season, recently healed from a foot injury that had lingered since August. Then he suffered shoulder and knee injuries during last week’s loss in Green Bay, but Metellus told the Minnesota Star Tribune that he will play at Seattle despite being listed questionable.

“If I can run, I can play,” Metellus said. “I’m planning on playing. Obviously, we’ll see what that looks like as far as playing every snap.”

Metellus is among five players listed questionable against the Seahawks, including left tackle Christian Darrisaw (foot/knee), outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard (shoulder), safety Theo Jackson (neck) and defensive tackle Jalen Redmond (hip).

“I think he’s feeling pretty good,” O’Connell said of Redmond, “but we’ll see how he comes out of today.”

The L.A. Rams signed tight end Nick Vannett off the Vikings practice squad. Vannett, the 32-year-old journeyman, played a season-high 27 snaps in the Vikings’ Nov. 2 victory in Detroit.

Randy Johnson of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed reporting.