It’s never wise to look too far ahead, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are looking for every advantage they can get after a troublesome start to the season.
This week, the Steelers will take on the New England Patriots, but next week, a trip to Dublin, Ireland, and a date with the Minnesota Vikings is set. The Minnesota Vikings have had a turbulent start to the 2025 season with their new starting quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, who is essentially in his rookie season.
He missed all of 2024 with a knee injury that required surgery. Just two games into 2025, he’s back on the injured list, and it could affect his availability against Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Steelers won't see J.J. McCarthy in Dublin contest vs. Vikings after all
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, McCarthy sustained a high ankle sprain in Minnesota’s Sunday night loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He’s expected to miss two to four weeks with the injury, putting his status for the matchup with Pittsburgh in Dublin very much in doubt.
While McCarthy is out, the Vikings will turn to former No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz. The veteran journeyman backup QB is on his sixth different roster in as many years. He played five seasons in Philadelphia, where he started well before teetering out after a devastating knee injury that ended an MVP-candidate season in 2017.
In the four seasons since leaving Philly, Wentz has started 25 games. He’s 12-13 in those games and has thrown for 40 touchdowns to 17 interceptions while completing just shy of 63% of his passes. While all of that was with another team, and Wentz, who is nearly 33, won’t be vying for a starting gig again in the NFL, he’s certainly shown himself to still be a competent game manager since transitioning to a backup role.
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Even with the news that Wentz could be in for McCarthy, there is another offensive injury for Minnesota that Steelers fans should keep an eye on: Aaron Jones. Jones is set to miss Week 3 with a hamstring injury, and considering the change in routine a trip to Dublin entails, it’s certainly likely that Jones may not be available against Pittsburgh either.
Early this season, Minnesota’s offense hasn’t been what fans across the NFL have been accustomed to in recent seasons. With a young quarterback, that’s certainly understandable. But of course, as things stand now, Wentz will still have Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson to lean on in the passing game.
Even if Minnesota’s offense hasn’t been what they are used to, the same can be said for the Steelers' defense. Maybe with all of the chaos Minnesota is dealing with heading into the international game, the Steelers can take advantage in what is expected to be somewhat of a home-field environment in Ireland.