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MN Vikings QB Battle Heating Up – Max Brosmer Uncuttable, Sam Howell in Trouble…?
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- MN Vikings QB Battle Heating Up – Max Brosmer Uncuttable, Sam Howell in Trouble…?
Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings
If the next couple of weeks of Minnesota Vikings training camp go anything like the last few have, who knows where former one-and-done Gophers QB Max Brosmer might sit on the Vikings depth chart going into the 2025 NFL regular season.
Sam Howell played well (8-of-11 for 108 yards) in Saturday's 20-10 win over the Houston Texans , arguably even better than the aforementioned UDFA signing (5-of-8 for 43 yards and 1 TD). But that hasn't necessarily convinced those around the organization that Howell is the best man for Minnesota's backup QB job.
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Both Alec Lewis (The Athletic) and Ben Goessling (Star Tribune) released new Vikings 53-man roster projections early this week. While these two local beat writers currently differ on who might claim the final spots on the depth chart at some positions, they are unified at quarterback… well, kind of.
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Max Brosmer already uncuttable for Minnesota Vikings?
Lewis is already sold on former Gopher QB, Max Brosmer. According to the Vikings beat writer, NFL teams are too desperate for competent quarterbacks and he believes that Brosmer has already proved himself to be exactly that.
With two preseason games left to play, both of which he will be heavily featured in. Thus, KOC has no choice but to keep all three — McCarthy, Howell and Brosmer. At this point, Lewis cannot understand why other NFL teams didn't take a draft flyer on Dinkytown's one-and-done QB when they had the chance…
Quarterback (3)
In: J.J. McCarthy , Sam Howell, Max Brosmer
Out: Brett Rypien
Why Howell and Brosmer? These are two changes from our last roster projection. Howell played confidently against the Houston Texans. His arm talent is undeniable. More reps in O'Connell's system should only help.
Meanwhile, Brosmer going undrafted is head-scratching, to put it nicely. By comparison, the Texans' Graham Mertz, who threw three interceptions Saturday, was selected in the sixth round. Brosmer sees the field, processing the defensive picture in a way you cannot teach. Coaches have raved about his smarts behind the scenes, too. If the Vikings don't add him to the 53-man, they'd risk losing a reliable player at the game's most critical position.
Reps like this are great to see from Max Brosmer. Goes through his progressions and rips a missile to the back of the end zone for a touchdown pic.twitter.com/HQl3xwK1tZ
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) August 12, 2025
#Gophers Max Brosmer continues to impress in Vikings camp. This throw against the first team defense. pic.twitter.com/SV2Ulb55iU
— Noel Thompson (@N0ELTHOMPSON) August 11, 2025
Alec has only watched Max Brosmer play football for a couple months, and his opportunities as an non-team affiliated reporter are limited. Yet, he has already reached the conclusion most Gopher fans did back during the draft process, that Max is a legitimate NFL quarterback.
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There is no way he should have slipped through the draft and been able to sign with the Minnesota Vikings as a UDFA . How that happens in 2025, given how much money is invested into draft scouting, is beyond my imagination.
Goessling not so sure about MN Vikings QB room
Not everyone agrees with Lewis' assessment of Minnesota's QB situation, however. The Star Tribune's Ben Goessling isn't convinced that anything in the Vikings quarterback room, beyond JJ McCarthy being locked-in as the starter, is near settled.
Just like his rival over at The Athletic, however, Goessling has Minnesota keeping three QBs out of camp — JJ McCarthy, Sam Howell and Max Brosmer. It's clear, though, that Ben isn't nearly as confident in his predictions. In fact, he isn't even even convinced Sam Howell will be on the team in a few weeks.
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One good preseason performance, Goessling notes, does not absolve Howell of weeks-worth of training camp sins. In his summary, explaining his predictions, it sounds like Goessling is forecasting another QB trade that would end some of these questions surrounding whether or not the Vikings have enough depth behind McCarthy.
Quarterback (3)
J.J. McCarthy, Sam Howell, Max Brosmer
Waived: Brett Rypien
I'm not entirely sure Howell will make the 53-man roster even after he completed 11 of 13 passes for 105 yards against the Texans. He hasn't been consistent in practices and may need to keep improving in this week's joint practices with the Patriots to prevent the front office from adding a different QB2 option as other teams trim rosters later this month.
Up until just a week or two ago, Howell was struggling so bad at early Vikings training camp that he was starving the second team offense of much needed productive reps. That could be a problem, if it were to persist, and not something they've had to worry nearly as much about when Max Brosmer is running the show.
Dwight McGlothern picks off Sam Howell at the end of practice at Vikings Training Camp. pic.twitter.com/ZLZW3ZfodO
— Skol Geek (@SkolGeek) July 29, 2025
Goessling then moved on to the QB3 spot, where he certainly does not have Max Brosmer at a point where he's become uncuttable yet. Nor does he have Rypien as already being cooked. Instead, he calls Minnesota's QB3 "race" a coinflip between the veteran vs UDFA, even though his update has Rypien as being waived.
It appears to be a coin flip between Brett Rypien and Max Brosmer, the former Gopher who made a pair of impressive throws in the end zone against Houston on Saturday. Rypien, a seventh-year NFL veteran, is the more experienced option should O'Connell prefer to have him with the 22-year-old McCarthy.
Crucial preseason week for Minnesota Vikings and Patriots
No matter what their role on the Minnesota Vikings 90-man training camp roster, it's a big week. They're making adjustments and assessments based on their first preseason game. Meanwhile, Kevin O'Connell and his coaching staff is also preparing for their next exhibition opponent, the New England Patriots .
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On Wednesday and Thursday, those same Pats –lead by head coach Mike Vrabel, 2024 No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye , and the infamous Stefon Diggs — will visit TCO Performance Center in Eagan for two days of joint practices against the Vikings, leading up to their officially unofficial preseason contest Saturday.
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Fans will be welcome for these joint practice sessions, which will heavily feature both team's healthy starters, many of which will not take a snap during either of the teams' three preseason games. Thus, they are setup to be incredibly competitive and physical, but in a more controlled environment.
One player spectators in Eagan may not get to see as much, during this week's joint practices, is Max Brosmer. That's because these practices will be used to prepare QB1 JJ McCarthy and test QB2 Sam Howell, more so than get deeper looks at Brosmer and Brett Rypien.
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The expectation is that we will see lots of those two, come Saturday's preseason matchup between the Patriots and Vikings.
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