Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz will have season-ending shoulder surgery

Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz, who has started the past five games while J.J. McCarthy recovers from an ankle sprain, will miss the rest of the season.

Wentz will have surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed, and was put on injured reserve Monday. The 32-year-old veteran suffered the injury against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 5 in London.

He wore a bulky apparatus to protect the shoulder in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night and said afterward he had “never worn anything remotely close to” it.

Wentz appeared in great pain several times throughout the game at Los Angeles. He was sacked five times and said after the game that it was “quite possibly” the worst pain he has played through in his professional career, but he maintained that he believed he could still contribute despite it.

“I asked him multiple times where he was at,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said after Thursday’s game, also noting Wentz had soreness coming into the game off the short week of recovery. “He said he was good and wanted to keep going. It did seem like he was in pain there a couple of times, a few times.”

Wentz completed 110 passes out of 169 attempts for 1,216 yards and six touchdowns with five interceptions this season. He was sacked 19 times. The Vikings have also faced injury trouble on their offensive line. Against the Chargers, they were missing both starting tackles.

The Vikings play at Detroit on Sunday. On Monday, they claimed tight end Ben Sims off waivers from Green Bay. Sims started his career with Minnesota as an undrafted free agent in 2023 but was waived during final cuts after training camp. He has appeared in 37 games for the Packers, including six starts, and has eight catches for 63 yards.

The Vikings worked him out individually last Tuesday before the trip to Los Angeles, as the team only did walk-throughs, and O’Connell said Friday that the 22-year-old would also get work in then, hoping it would “lead him into a full week of preparation and feel positive about where he’s at as well.”

The Vikings do not have to release a practice report until Wednesday.

Both left tackle Christian Darrisaw and right tackle Brian O’Neill did practice Monday.

O’Neill was inactive Thursday night after having played a full game against the Eagles in his return from a right MCL sprain suffered in Week 4.

O’Connell said postgame that O’Neill had some swelling in his left knee, potentially due to overcompensating for his right knee injury.

“Back to the training room and see where it takes us,” he added.

Darrisaw played nine snaps against the Chargers before leaving the game. He said Monday that his “body didn’t respond how [he] wanted it to” in-game and he didn’t want to set back his recovery, which he noted has been ahead of schedule. He was originally given a 12-month timeline to return to game action after tearing two ligaments in his left knee in Week 8 last year. He returned in Week 3 this season, but the knee has still been limiting him.

Darrisaw went through an on-field workout monitored by a few staff members before the game Thursday. He said he wanted to move around after the team didn’t practice all week.

O’Connell said Friday that the team not playing another non-Sunday game until Week 17 should help set a consistent rhythm for Darrisaw’s between-game recovery and turnover.

“It’s gonna be really helpful,” Darrisaw affirmed with a smile. “Just having our normal routine. No short weeks. We get all the time that we need to recover.”

Sixth-round rookie tight end Gavin Bartholomew, who has been on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list since August with a back injury, was seen on the rehab field working with trainers.