Kevin O’Connell on Max Brosmer Starting in Seattle, Injury Updates, Team’s Preparation for Seahawks

Kevin O’Connell on Max Brosmer Starting in Seattle, Injury Updates, Team’s Preparation for Seahawks

All right, hope everybody had a uh happy Thanksgiving. Uh team came back in ready to work today. Um had a really good week of practice. Um and know the challenge it’s going to be having, you know, gone there and able to win a game a year ago in Seattle. Unbelievable environment. Uh one I know our team is uh is ready to go compete against a really talented team and uh looking forward to seeing our guys go do that. Uh regarding the QB position, uh we are going to rule out JJ McCarthy. he was uh not able to clear the concussion protocol. Um pleased with where he’s at. He’s progressing. Um but just not able to uh clear the the last few steps and and quite honestly just um you know I have pretty strong feelings on just when guys uh do get a concussion and and where they’re at in regards to the next week. Always want to leave it open to uh the doctor’s ultimate to say and decision and the protocol is in place for a reason. So Max had a really good week of practice. his preparation started long before um this week with how he’s prepared being either a snap away or even throughout training camp and since he’s been here. Um I know the guys have a lot of confidence in him and I’m very excited to see him play based upon the work he’s put in and and just how uh important I know this opportunity is to him and and these guys are going to play great around them and we’re going to go compete uh on Sunday. Just giving you some game status updates in addition to JJ McCarthy being out. Uh Donovan Jackson will uh be ruled out and then we’ll have five players questionable. Uh Christian Deraw, Jonathan Gernard, Theo Jackson, Josh Matelis, and Jaylen Redmond. Uh all questionable for the game. Nobody else will go in with the designation. And Kevin, will JJ make the trip to Seattle? Uh yeah, we’re still working through that. I don’t know if there’s any uh rules or anything like that to that, but I I would like them to. Yeah. So, we’ll we’ll just defer to whatever the doctors say on that. Kevin, I know you expressed confidence in Max on Monday. Um, just seeing him navigate practice this week, how much more does that confidence grow? Yeah, you know, um, obviously I I don’t need to see uh, Max do a lot of the things that he did in practice to have confidence in him. Like I said, this has been something that uh, really dates back to u, you know, training camp and and just watching the way he was able to efficiently run our offense uh, no matter who he was in the huddle with. And uh I think our veteran guys, the guys in that first huddle have seen it over and over again. U but then to have him command the huddle the way he did this week. Uh you know, not sure the ball hit the ground today just with the efficiency at which we were operating and throwing and guys were flying around. So, um I think there’s confidence in Max and and uh I’m like I said, I’m excited to see him uh as a guy that I’ve been watching behind the scenes do a lot of work and continue to just make it about the stuff that is important and matters to the daily minute-to-minute process of a young quarterback. Um I I have uh a ton of confidence in Max. What do you see in Seattle’s defense? Just why are they making it so difficult? Super talented. Um, I think Mike’s one of the best in the league at at what he does, and it’s not just him. He’s got a great coaching staff there with him. Uh, they’ve obviously added some players on the edges. They already had good players there. They already had really good players on the interior of the Dline and and you see their younger players continuing to ascend as well. Um, good linebackers. I, you know, I was with Ernest, you know, Jones in LA. I know everything about what he is. Toughness, just smart. um flies around, makes a lot of plays tackling, but also on the ball as well. Um and then I think they’ve really uh figured out, you know, their their secondary and how they want to play, and it’s a it’s tough scheme. They could throw a lot of different looks at you, a lot of different pressure variations. Um there’s a reason why Mike’s one of the best in the league at what he does. Ton of respect for him, and and I think his players are playing fast, physical, and they obviously play really well at home uh in the noise. So, going to be a challenge. uh we practiced uh as if uh you know under the expectations of playing one of the best defenses in the league u you know in a tough environment. So expect our guys to go compete. It’s going to be about play style. It’s going to be about physicality and then poise um in and out of the huddle getting to the line of scrimmage and making making sure we’re maximizing our operation uh with uh limited to no negatives uh is is the uh what we think it’s going to take to have a chance to win the game. Kevin, when you’re figuring out how to attack Sam, how much do you look back on the time that you had with him last year and things that training camp practices or just seeing what affected him when he was here? Yeah, I think you know, when you’re coaching a guy and you’re around him every day and and became incredibly close with Sam, um yeah, you think back on some of the things, coaching points and things like that, but he’s playing at such a high level. Um, I think he’s uh, obviously a lot of the things we saw from him a year ago, he’s fitting right in into that offense and and playing at, you know, a very very high level with playmakers around him, weapons at the receiver position, tight end position. They’ve got two really good backs and I think their O line probably doesn’t get enough credit for how physical they are in the run game um, and how they get off the football. So, um, I think Sam is going to, um, play as Sam has played all season, which is very, very well. Um, we’ve got to play sound defense. We got to have play style to how we play uh, you know, try to win some of those early downs and then see if we can make it uh, about some of those weighty downs where our defense has been pretty darn good this year and they’ve been really good as well. So, good on good battle there and obviously Sam’s going to, you know, be a guy we’ve got to try to make uncomfortable in the game, but he’s playing at a level that uh, makes it hard to do that. Just just to be clear, Wolford still gets elevated to be back. Yeah, John will be elevated to be the backup and and u you know, we’ll take a look at anything else roster-wise, but likely uh JJ is out for the game. Yeah. And glad you signed Desmond Render just to have another Yeah, it was we it really it comes down to we like Dez first and foremost, but uh the way we practice sometimes from a standpoint of the walkthroughs being split. Uh we wanted to have John and Max, you know, able to absorb absolutely everything. Um and make sure the defense had somebody during their uh look teams as as good of a former quarterback as Charlie Fry is. Um you know, Charlie’s a coach now, so we wanted to have somebody there. And like we said, like I said, you know, the you know, I think you asked me earlier in the week, uh if we were going to do anything there. Um that was you, right? I think so. Yeah. and uh both you guys teaming up, bullies like you are. But uh u but no, it just helps to have that guy already in the building. You know, if there were to be an injury of any kind, which we obviously hope does not happen. Um we’re, you know, out in front of anything in the future. Think all the takeaways have gone from last year to this year. Well, I think uh you know there is a certain level at this at the NFL level of it being sometimes random, but are you doing the things um as a team to uh help the defense? It’s not just them. Uh obviously, you want chances to punch at the ball. We talk about that every day. Uh these guys are here. Uh it’s a it’s principles of how we play defensively. The tips and overthrows, can we get people into those DNDs where we get more ops at some of those? and then catching the ones that you do get thrown to you. Um are all principles of turning the ball over. But I think offensively uh special teams uh can we make the play to make people have to drive it with more plays? Field position matters. And then offensively um can you do enough that uh you know a team can’t be uh finding a path to beat you while being very conservative because if that’s the case then you just don’t have um as many of those downs. that where maybe a year ago we had a lead uh you know one two score lead in the middle part of the games where people have to try to go get it. Uh there could be more opportunities uh with the plays that are being called uh to try to allow our defense and our scheme and flow calling it uh to have a chance to maybe force some of those. So I think it all works together um and and it just takes team football and not just the defense forcing those plays to happen. Did Jaylen Redmond get a hurt in practice? He he felt a little uh in his in his hip yesterday and was able to come back and get some treatment and and uh kind of have a limited day today and I think he’s feeling pretty good. But we’ll see how he comes out of today. Uh yeah, it was just not in any kind of team period yesterday. Actually, an individual just kind of going through his fundamentals and techniques. Just felt it a little bit, but a lot of that stuff’s normal this time of year. How did Darasaw come through the week? Yeah, he got some work today and and we’ll see how he did. you know, we’ll see how the doctors and the medical team assess kind of how he’s feeling and uh I’m sure it’ll be something that um whether it’s a game time decision or we have some clarity coming out of today later on here uh we’ll know. But we’ve got a plan in place. You know, CD hopefully he’s able to go. Uh Justin school will be ready. We’ll be ready to handle it with uh whatever we need to do to try to put that group out there in a place to have success against a talented front. Thanks everyone. Thanks guys. Thank you.

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the media ahead of the Week 13 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks in the 2025 NFL regular season.

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