Allen Park — As the Detroit Lions prepare to play the Minnesota Vikings in their return from the bye week this Sunday, head coach Dan Campbell said he’s expecting the visitors to start former Michigan star J.J. McCarthy at quarterback.

McCarthy was named the Vikings’ starter entering the 2025 season, but suffered a high ankle sprain in his second game that put him on the shelf for Minnesota’s last five games. With reports swirling that Minnesota is targeting Sunday as McCarthy’s potential return date, Campbell said he’s preparing for that to be the case.

The prediction looks even stronger now that veteran Carson Wentz has been placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, a development that transpired after Campbell’s Monday afternoon press conference. The Vikings could look to rookie Max Brosmer, who has made three relief appearances (and thrown just eight passes) this season. But unless McCarthy suffers any further setbacks with his ankle injury, he is the more likely option.

“I’m assuming that McCarthy’s going to play, but we’ll be ready for whoever they have,” Campbell said.

Wentz appeared to be fighting through significant pain in the Vikings’ 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night. After the game, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters, “If J.J. is healthy, J.J. will play” in this week’s game against the Lions.

While McCarthy delivered a heroic fourth-quarter comeback in the team’s opener against the Chicago Bears, the majority of McCarthy’s NFL snaps have been subpar. Through two games, he’s 24-for-41 passing (58.5%) for 301 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions and a 1-1 record. In five starts, Wentz went 2-3 while completing 65.1% of his passes for 1,216 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions.

“I don’t foresee things changing that much per quarterback,” Campbell said. “Certainly, if (McCarthy) does play, they’re going to want to calm things down for him, ask him to do things that he does well, help him out there, try to establish the run game there, get 18 (wide receiver Justin Jefferson) the ball, all the things that you would think of.”

McCarthy will be the fourth starting quarterback the Vikings have used in a game against Detroit since 2023. Kirk Cousins started each of the first four meetings (in 2021 and 2022), Nick Mullens started both 2023 meetings, and Sam Darnold started both games in 2024.

Since 2022, when Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell arrived in Minnesota, the Lions are 5-1 against the Vikings. O’Connell guided the Darnold-led Vikings to a 14-3 record last season, when they came up short of an NFC North title after getting swept by Detroit, a series that included a winner-take-all finale in Week 18. Detroit won, 31-9, at Ford Field.

“O’Connell does an unbelievable job, and that staff, they always do, it doesn’t matter the quarterback,” Campbell said. “They’re gonna find a way to take the pressure off the areas they need to and then put it somewhere else, and then find a way to convert, move the football. … Defense gets takeaways, they’re disruptive over there.”

“So, yeah, I mean, O’Connell’s done a hell of a job. They always do … it doesn’t really matter who’s playing quarterback. They’ll be prepared.”

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

@nolanbianchi

Want to comment on this story? Become a subscriber today. Click here.