Kevin O’Connell’s comments highlight how Max Brosmer can make the 53-man roster and it’s simpler than you think
Finding a starting quarterback is important, as it’s the most important position in the National Football League. However, it’s not the only spot in the quarterback room that’s important. You need to have a good backup quarterback. There arguably isn’t a team that understands the importance of a backup quarterback more than the Minnesota Vikings. […]
Finding a starting quarterback is important, as it’s the most important position in the National Football League. However, it’s not the only spot in the quarterback room that’s important. You need to have a good backup quarterback. There arguably isn’t a team that understands the importance of a backup quarterback more than the Minnesota Vikings.
The 2023 season saw the Vikings start four quarterbacks over the course of the season after Kirk Cousins ruptured his Achilles tendon against the Green Bay Packers in their eighth game of the season. The Vikings were 4-4 at the time and finished 3-6 due to the inconsistent play from the position.
Kevin O’Connell highlights what he wants from his backup quarterbacks
Because of the Vikings’ knowledge with the backup quarterback spot, having players you can rely on is very important, especially with J.J. McCarthy having already missed one season due to his torn meniscus suffered against the Las Vegas Raiders in the preseason opener last year.
With all the talk about the backup quarterback spot this offseason, head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about what he wants to see from his backups during the preseason. His answer highlights that 2023 season.
“Yeah, I think it’s a lot of the same things. It’s a lot of the same things. The reps, as you guys will see, are tied directly to a lot of the first-team guys, and it’s built that way because of how we’re going to handle the game and all that stuff. But they’re still going to get opportunities, and they’ve got to go in and do what they are trying to do every single day, which is the same things all quarterbacks should be attempting to do, which is step into the huddle, command the huddle, have total ownership at the line of scrimmage pre snap, and then how much of that can you carry over to doing your job post snap consistently over and over and over again. I talk to these guys a lot about my personal journey of getting in there, and every shot play I was throwing it deep. Every third down, I was throwing it in tight windows and trying to win the Super Bowl on one particular play. Today is not what I recommend for those guys, other than continue to do your job, make great decisions, put the ball in play and see how many times you can stack good plays together.”
Identifying how good a backup quarterback plays isn’t as simple as you might think. It’s about making and getting the team into the right plays, not just good ones, and once the play starts, you make the proper read. Do those things, and you can be successful as a backup quarterback.
These are the things that Max Brosmer should be making a focus. He’s been staying after practice to work on things, including after Wednesday’s joint practice, where he threw to some of the young receivers. That came after Brosmer had a tremendous throw down the field to Tim Jones that had the crowd erupting.
It’s still going to be an uphill battle for Brosmer to make the roster, but the path after his impressive preseason debut is clear. Doing the right things is the most important part here, and the mantra for McCarthy’s rookie season rings true here.
The process is the progress.
Minnesota Vikings News
Vikings QB Max Brosmer shows why Minnesota prioritized him as a UDFA in his excellent preseason debut
Good quarterbacks are hard to find for a variety of reasons, and it’s something that the Minnesota Vikings know all too well. They have been searching for their first franchise quarterback since Daunte Culpepper, and the only other one in the 65 years of the franchise is Fran Tarkenton. The hope is that J.J. McCarthy […]
