Minnesota quarterback Carson Wentz will start Sunday against the host Chicago Bears and Kyler Murray has been ruled out while recovering from a concussion, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Friday.
The announcement was expected because of Wentz’s performance in leading the Vikings to a comeback victory over the visiting Green Bay Packers in the season opener last Sunday and starter Murray’s condition after his early exit.
“Kyler showed a lot of progress, he’s doing well,” O’Connell said. “(He) felt good this week working through it, but he will be out Sunday. I fully anticipate him clearing the (concussion) protocol early next week with the progress that he’s made. Carson will start and J.J. (McCarthy) will be the backup. Carson had a really good week of work coming off of his performance last week. I know he’s ready to go. A good practice again today.”
Wentz, 33, will make his 100th career NFL start in his 11-year career. Wentz was 12-of-19 passing for 133 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in the 39-22 win over the Packers.
“You know I’ve done this before, in a lot of different colors now, but I’ve done this before,” Wentz said after the game in which the Vikings trailed 22-10 late in the third quarter. “I’m confident in what I bring to the table. I’m kind of the old guy in that huddle.”
Murray left the game early in the first quarter in his debut with Minnesota. He was hit in the head on a scramble and stayed down for a few minutes before walking off the field under his own power. After further evaluation, Murray was determined to have suffered a concussion and placed in the protocol for the week.
He was a limited participant at practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Last season, McCarthy started the first two games of the season before missing time with an ankle injury. Wentz started five games before being placed on IR with a shoulder injury. The Vikings went 2-3 in those games and he completed 65.1% of his passes for 1,216 yards and six touchdowns with five interceptions.
For his career, Wentz has thrown for 23,759 yards, 162 TDs and 72 picks in 104 regular-season games (99 starts) with the Philadelphia Eagles (2016-20), Indianapolis Colts (2021), Washington Commanders (2022), Los Angeles Rams (2023), Kansas City Chiefs (2024) and Vikings. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2017.
The Eagles selected Wentz with the second overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.