Vikings' Carson Wentz Says 'Nobody Was Forcing Me' to Play Through Shoulder Injury

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz stayed in Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers despite suffering a shoulder injury, but he made it clear on Wednesday that he felt no pressure from the coaching staff to keep playing.

"This isn't my first rodeo," Wentz said, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert. "I'm not an idiot. I know what I was signing up for going out there. Nobody was forcing me, pressuring me, any of those things."

The Vikings revealed earlier this week that Wentz suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder that left him "enduring considerable pain" against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5. After using the bye week to rehab, he started against the Philadelphia Eagles two weeks ago and the Chargers last week.

After being sacked five times against Los Angeles, he exited in the final minutes and was replaced by rookie Max Brosmer.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday that Wentz will undergo left-shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the 2025 campaign.

Wentz, who took over for the injured J.J. McCarthy, played five games, throwing for 1,216 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell faced a good deal of criticism for not removing Wentz from Thursday's game earlier, but Wentz defended O'Connell when asked if he should have been pulled sooner.

"Truthfully, no. I appreciate that everyone was checking on me and all this stuff -- at the end of the day, coaches, trainers, no one really knows the level of pain or difficulty that I may be feeling," he said. "And I know TV copies can show stuff that people on sidelines don't see, but I never once felt unsafe. I've said it a bunch, it's just pain. It's pain. It's discomfort. I knew surgery was coming, I knew it needed to be fixed. So it was like, 'I don't want to come out of this game as uncomfortable as this is.'"

O'Connell said leaving Wentz in the game was a "football decision" and he felt an "obligation" to keep him in the game after the veteran asked to remain under center.

Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick in 2016, set an NFL record by starting a game for a different team in six straight years this season. The 32-year-old will look to bounce back quickly from his surgery and figure out what comes after his one-year deal with the Vikings expires.