The Minnesota Vikings placed quarterback Carson Wentz on injured reserve on Monday after he gutted out a shoulder injury during the last 2 1/2 games of his five-game fill-in for J.J. McCarthy. But the seriousness of that shoulder injury is just coming to light and seriously casts a shadow over why Wentz was allowed to continue playing Thursday night.
Wentz will have surgery on his left, non-throwing shoulder. ESPN is now reporting that shoulder is significantly damaged. The left shoulder is dislocated, and includes a torn labrum and a fractured socket.
How Wentz was able to even play with that serious of an injury is shocking, and the QB was in visible agony during parts of the game against the Chargers. He said after the game it was "the most pain" he's ever been in.
The shoulder injury and now surgery will end the season for the 32-year old Wentz.
"Carson's a veteran player, he understands some of our circumstances tonight," O'Connell did explain after the Chargers loss. "I think it's very difficult to ask a rookie to go in there for his first performance and you have to be kind of weathering it a little bit for the group. I did think about that at different times in the game."
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said he was told by the medical staff that Wentz wasn't risking further damage by staying in the game, so he decided not to expose undrafted rookie backup Max Brosmer to the pass rush behind a patchwork offensive line and kept Wentz in until the final drive.
Playing with pain and injuries is nothing new in the NFL but it's fair to ask if this was a step too far, with Wentz literally writhing in pain on the turf in Los Angeles at various times. O'Connell said after the game he was in "constant communication" with the medical staff regarding Wentz's status but didn't replace him with Brosmer until long after the game was decided and less than two minutes remained.
During his weekly appearance on KFAN, O'Connell insisted Wentz wanted to keep playing and medically, it wasn't going to hurt him further.
"There was never a point in time where, medically, we were going against the grain of what was in Carson's best interest and ultimately what Carson wanted to kind of see through," he said.
McCarthy, who suffered a high sprain of his right ankle during the second game of the season, was already on track to return to action this week when the struggling Vikings (3-4) play at division rival Detroit.
Wentz, who signed with the team he grew up rooting for in neighboring North Dakota the week before the regular season began, went from veteran backup to starter after McCarthy went down. The Vikings went 2-3 with Wentz, including that 37-10 blowout by the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday. He was first hurt in the first half on Oct. 5 in London against the Cleveland Browns. Wentz missed one snap and then played the second half with a harness protecting the shoulder, and actually led the Vikings on a game-winning drive.
Wentz was under heavy pressure that night, with starting tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O'Neill and original starting center Ryan Kelly all sidelined by injury, and he took several hard hits that had him wincing.
Wentz, who was the second pick in the 2016 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, extended his league record by making Minnesota the sixth team he has made at least one start for over the last six seasons.
The Vikings used the open roster spot to claim former Green Bay Packers tight end Ben Sims off waivers. Tight end Josh Oliver was forced out of the last game with a foot injury.