Head coach Kevin O’Connell said it’s too soon to say if McCarthy will play on Sunday against Seattle.

EAGAN, Minn. — Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has entered the NFL’s concussion protocol after experiencing “symptoms” after the team’s 23-6 loss to Green Bay on Sunday.

“He was evaluated last night and after completing those tests, our training staff and doctors and medical team have decided that the right place for him is to put him in the protocol for now, and he’ll go through that process this week,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said during his Monday afternoon press briefing.

O’Connell said there isn’t a specific incident that they’ve pinpointed as a possible cause. O’Connell added that it’s too early to determine if McCarthy will be able to play on Sunday when the Vikings travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks, preferring to “take it a day at a time.”

Head Coach Kevin O’Connell says that QB J.J. McCarthy is in the concussion protocol. pic.twitter.com/BbhapR9TKT

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 24, 2025

McCarthy missed all but one preseason game in 2024 because of a torn meniscus in his right knee, and then missed five games this season with a high ankle sprain. He’s made six starts, completing just 54.1% of his passes for 929 yards, six touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He’s also been 20 times, including five on Sunday against Green Bay.

Should McCarthy not be able to go, O’Connell said rookie Max Brosmer would likely get the nod Sunday. Brosmer, a former University of Minnesota quarterback, has thrown eight passes this season, completing five of them for 42 yards. He was signed as an undrafted free agent and impressed coaches enough in training camp and preseason to keep him on the roster as the team’s third quarterback. 

“A ton of confidence in Max,” O’Connell said. “All he’s done since he’s been here is show up every single day and respond and answer the bell, whether it’s stepping in for some reps when some guys were dinged up previously this year with the first group or, if you look at it from a standpoint of what his absorption of the offense was throughout his first day here all the way through training camp, playing in some of those games, playing against the (Tennessee) Titans first-team unit in that preseason game defensively, moving the team and getting the ball out and seeing things at a veteran level type of eye progression, I think we all have a lot of confidence in Max.”