Three more key Minnesota Vikings (7-8) have officially been ruled out due to injury as the NFC North rivals welcome in the Detroit Lions (8-7) in a Christmas Day showdown from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.
Star tight end T.J. Hockenson, leading rusher Jordan Mason and starting center Ryan Kelly have been ruled out on the Vikings’ final injury report. Hockenson is dealing with a shoulder injury, Mason with an ankle injury and Kelly a concussion.
Hockenson, a two-time Pro Bowler, has caught 51 passes for 438 yards and three scores this season. The 6-foot-5, 248-pound tight end. Mason has carried 145 times for 664 yards and six touchdowns. Kelly has played in just eight games this season, but he’s started all eight of them. The Vikings are 4-4 with Kelly playing.
The news comes a day after Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced that starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy had suffered a hairline fracture in his throwing hand and would miss the contest against the Lions.
McCarthy, a second-year pro out of Michigan, will now miss his seventh game this season with a third different injury. The 6-foot-3, 219-pound quarterback missed five games with a right high ankle sprain and he sat out a sixth while in concussion protocol.
McCarthy completed 14-of-25 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns with a 9-yard rushing score as well in the Vikings’ win over the Lions earlier this season.
In his place, the Vikings will turn to rookie undrafted quarterback Max Brosmer out of Minnesota.
Brosmer has played in five games thus far this season, starting once against the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 30.
The 6-foot-2, 218-pound rookie quarterback played in the second half of last week’s 16-13 win over the New York Giants, completing 7-of-9 passes for 52 yards after McCarthy exited with his hand injury. Brosmer quarterbacked three series in the second half against the Giants, orchestrating one 14-play, 57-yard scoring drive that ended with a 30-yard Will Reichard field goal.
In the lone start of his career thus far, Brosmer struggled mightily. Brosmer threw four interceptions, while completing 19-of-30 passes for 126 yards in a 26-0 loss at Seattle.
Throughout his college career, Brosmer completed 63.1% of his passes for 11,544 yards, 88 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. Brosmer added 15 rushing touchdowns as well.
At Minnesota, Brosmer started all 13 games in 2024, completing a single-season school record 268 passes for 2,828 yards and 18 touchdowns. Brosmer led the FCS in passing yards during the 2023 season.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Vikings rule out three more offensive stars vs. Lions
