Vikings add new quarterback to practice squad in wake of Carson Wentz injury, J.J. McCarthy expected return
Minnesota adds a third QB

The Minnesota Vikings are adding a new quarterback following Carson Wentz's season-ending shoulder injury, as the team announced Wednesday they signed John Wolford to its practice squad. The 30-year-old Wolford spent time with the New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Wentz was placed on injured reserve this week after playing through a painful shoulder injury. He suffered a dislocation that tore his labrum and fractured the socket, according to NFL Media. Wentz went 2-3 as the starter in place of J.J. McCarthy, who is expected to return to the starting lineup this week against the Detroit Lions.
While Wolford has been a member of four different NFL franchises, he has only suited up for the Rams, who employed Kevin O'Connell as their offensive coordinator at the time. The undrafted prospect out of Wake Forest played in seven games from 2020-2022 with four starts (2-2), and completed 58.7% of his passes for 626 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions.
Wolford also started in the Rams' wild-card game against the Seattle Seahawks in 2020 following a late-season injury to Jared Goff, but suffered a neck injury in the first quarter that required him to be taken to a local hospital. Wolford returned to the Rams the following year and served as Matthew Stafford's backup as Los Angeles went on to win Super Bowl LVI.
Wolford experienced a successful college career at Wake Forest. He set school records in his final season with 3,192 passing yards, 29 touchdown passes, 3,875 total yards and 39 total touchdowns, and was the only ACC player in 2017 to record two games of six total touchdowns, one of which came in a win against Lamar Jackson's Louisville Cardinals.
Wolford also spent a year in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football (AAF), and led the league in passing touchdowns (14) in it's lone season. Now, he is reunited with O'Connell.
















