Vikings Pull the First Lever at Quarterback by Sending Young Arm Off Roster

Well, the expected happened, it just took about a day to get there.

The Vikings pulled the expected lever with UDFA sophomore Max Brosmer, moving on from him a day after the cut deadline. Ian Rapoport passed along the news: “The #Vikings are releasing QB Max Brosmer, who started two games last year and played in seven. He now heads to waivers.”

Vikings Pull Lever at QB with Max Brosmer

All along, the Minnesota Vikings have desired a four-deep quarterback room. But all on the active roster? Eh, that was always going to be a stretch. Keeping a trio active as a another lives on the practice squad always looked more likely.

Keeping Mr. Brosmer for an added day creates a scenario where Minnesota has a better shot at retaining him in the Twin Cities, albeit at a practice squad level. And, truthfully, that’s very likely what makes the most sense. Brosmer isn’t without talent but his greatest asset is his intangibles. Brosmer is a smart, hard-working passer who may develop into becoming a strong QB2 or QB3.

At this moment, though, he’s a developmental QB4.

In theory, a team could submit a claim for him, stealing him away as he descends from the roster to the practice squad. Doing so would be a surprise since he offers very little on-field value.

News emerged earlier in the day of the Vikings opting to snag a pair of large lads to reinforce the iOL depth. Alec Lewis (The Athletic) was among those to report that Nick Simac and Trevor Keegan got claimed. An NFL roster has a hard cap for the amount of players who can be on the team at a single time: the almighty 53 that has been all the rage in recent days. So, going +2 means going -2.

Kick it back to Lewis for one subtraction: “Now the Vikings are waiving WR Dillon Bell, per a source, to make room for claiming G Trevor Keegan and C Nick Samac. Lots of internal back-and-forth over the last 24 hours.”

And then there’s the Max Brosmer development. Rapoport added a bit of further context: “With Brosmer headed to waivers, the #Vikings QB room now features Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz and JJ McCarthy.”

Last year, Brosmer got put into a position that he was never intended to be in as a rookie.

Due to injury, the rookie UDFA had to start a pair of games, leading to a 1-1 record where he was more of a hindrance than a help. His final stats show a 66.2% completion rate to stand alongside 328 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. Brosmer’s passer rating came in at a dismal 53.0.

Again, though, there’s the reality: the kid was set up to fail. The Vikings did insulate him by putting him into the QB3 job, but J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz both went down to injury (Wentz, to his great credit, did all he could to protect Brosmer from getting tossed into the game by battling through tremendous shoulder pain). All that was left was to turn to Brosmer since the in-season additions of guys like Desmond Ridder and John Wolford weren’t deemed desirable.

What’s still demanding some clarity in the Twin Cities is whether McCarthy sticks around. If he does, is he the main backup? Can a team pry him away with a draft pick(s)?

Max Brosmer, 25, stands at 6’2″ and weighs 218 pounds. Look for him to be the Vikings’ QB4 for the 2026 season.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.