Vikings sign veteran QB with ties to Kevin O'Connell

And the winner of the 2025 Vikings midseason quarterback addition award is: John Wolford.

The Vikings needed to add a third quarterback after losing Carson Wentz to a season-ending shoulder injury, and they went to the Kevin O'Connell archives and dug up Wolford, who played on the Los Angeles Rams teams that O'Connell was part of in 2020 and 2021.

Wolford played for the Rams from 2020 to 2022, while O'Connell took over as Vikings head coach in 2022. He hasn't taken a snap in a regular-season game since 2022, but he has bounced around as a practice squad player for the Buccaneers (2023 and 2024) and Jaguars (2025) the last three seasons.

He made one start as a 25-year-old rookie in 2020, completing 22 of 38 passes for 231 yards and an interception. He threw just four passes in 2021 when the Rams won the Super Bowl with Matthew Stafford starting, and he started three games in 2022, going 38-of-62 passing for 390 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

The 30-year-old already knows bits and pieces of O'Connell's complicated offensive scheme, so his transition should be relatively speedy. That said, he shouldn't be forced into action barring catastrophe, as the Vikings will start J.J. McCarthy and use undrafted rookie Max Brosmer as the No. 2 quarterback.

"J.J.'s in a good spot. Had some really good work yesterday and he should get a full week of preparation in here and finally feels like he's truly ready to go be himself, in regards to his ability to function at the position," O'Connell told KFAN's Paul Allen on Tuesday.

"But also do the things that J.J. McCarthy can bring to our offense from a mobility standpoint — and his ability to protect himself in many ways comes from his ability to play with great timing and rhythm from the pocket. But he's also got the ability to create and do some things off-schedule from the play."

Sunday's noon game in Detroit will likely feature the healthiest offensive lineup the Vikings have had all season, so long as starting tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O'Neill are good to go. If so, the only original starter out of the lineup will be center Ryan Kelly, who is on injured reserve after suffering two concussions earlier this season.

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