The Kansas City Chiefs pivoted away from Carson Wentz after the 2024 season, bringing in Gardner Minshew as the primary backup. Wentz remained in free agency deep into the preseason before finally landing with the Minnesota Vikings behind second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy. This appeared to be a wise choice for a veteran backup looking for one last chance to make his case as a starting option. Considering that Sam Darnold was legitimately in the MVP conversation under head coach Kevin O'Connell.
Darnold passed over 4,300 yards and tossed 35 touchdowns, numbers the quarterback had previously never dreamed of touching. Now, Wentz is hoping to find a bit of this magic with McCarthy expected to miss time with an ankle injury. Still the quarterback is handling things the right way with Vikingsz Fan Page pointing out Wentz was still building up McCarthy even in the midst of a career-changing opportunity.
Former Chiefs Quarterback Carson Wentz Has Incredible Opportunity to Revitalize Career in Minnesota
While making this comment, NFL Insider Ari Meirov noted that Wentz did point out having been on six teams in as many years and the appreciation that this brings for any opportunity. The former Chiefs signal-caller didn't put his best foot forward in last year's season finale with Kansas City. Getting blanked by Sean Payton's Denver Broncos was a bit of a concerning sign that perhaps limited the offseason market for Wentz.
Regardless, now you've got a chance to start against a Bengals defense that has given up 27 points to Trevor Lawrence and 16 to Joe Flacco. Considering the talent of Wentz and the offensive coaching staff, this is an incredible opportunity to put up 24-30 points and make it incredibly difficult to put McCarthy back into the starting lineup.
The last time we saw McCarthy was on Sunday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons. The young quarterback tossed two back-breaking interceptions and was unable to put anything together offensively, managing only 6 points despite having Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen consistently finding open space.
If Wentz can step in and put together a great performance, there is no question that the starting job at least becomes a discussion. The Bengals will be starting a backup as well, with Jake Browning taking over for Joe Burrow, who suffered a foot injury expected to keep the signal caller out for the next three months.
With the Chiefs set to travel to New York for Sunday Night Football, fans will get a chance to watch their former backup play in Sunday's early window. It is suddenly a fascinating matchup between two expected contenders dealing with quarterback turmoil. Kansas City fans will be able to watch their former backup while pulling against a wishful rival.
While watching the Bengals lose without Burrow isn't as satisfying, there is still a level of hate for one of only two teams that have prevented Mahomes and company from reaching the Super Bowl. Making this a shockingly interesting watch as Chiefs fans sit back and wait for Sunday night action.