Kevin O’Connell Explains that J.J. McCarthy Has Taken an Important Step in His Recovery
J.J. McCarthy is the future of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota’s full intent is to build their team around the Michigan alumnus. Partnering with Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw, McCarthy is being tasked with leading the Vikings into perpetual contention, a year-in, year-out level of competitiveness that only a franchise QB can deliver.
Undermining that trajectory, at least for a season, is the torn meniscus that required season-ending surgery. The rookie won’t be able to get into any games in 2024, instead needing to put in a ton of mental work as his body gets back to 100%.
Thankfully, things appear to be moving in a positive direction. Kevin O’Connell spent some time chatting with KFAN’s Paul Allen yesterday and indicated that the young QB has cleared the initial hurdle in his recovery.
Kevin O’Connell, J.J. McCarthy, & The Vikings’ QB Plan
Apparently, the quarterback needs to move a bit more slowly around the facility.
McCarthy has been getting around with the help of a motorized cart and may have had a minor accident crashing it into O’Connell’s office: “He did crash it into my office wall yesterday, no injuries to report, but maybe a little damage from the motorized cart.”
More important than the cart mishap is that he has cleared the initial hurdle in his recovery.
“He’s doing great,” O’Connell notes, “he’s doing great. He’s kind of through the early part of that rehab where we want to make sure it’s 24/7 what we need to be doing early on from a medical standpoint. Now he’s kind of to the point where he’s back in meetings right alongside Sam and the other quarterbacks every single day.”
The coach went on: “I would just say, there’s some of the things that we’ve talked about from an intangible standpoint of what he brings to our building, I’m challenging him on a daily basis to continue that.” The head coach thinks that “there’s a lot of valuable time ahead for him.”
Unpack all of that a little bit.
First off, the relationship between McCarthy and O’Connell appears to be strong. The NFL-QB-turned-NFL-HC is fond of his young passer and appears to have full confidence in McCarthy’s capacity to not only recover but fully live up to his potential.
But then there’s the good nugget about clearing that first medical hurdle. At first, there’s quite an intense degree of diligence — 24/7, per O’Connell — so that the work accomplished in the surgery doesn’t get undermined. The rookie is out of that phase and now has a bit more freedom to get the mental work ratcheted up.
Losing J.J. McCarthy isn’t anyone’s idea of a good outcome. The positive, though, is that there will be absolutely zero rush when it comes to his understanding of the scheme. McCarthy can fully absorb the playbook and learn about life in the NFL without any pressure to get onto the field. Ideally, there will be some value extracted from the experience that will help him from Year 2 onward.
In his final season at Michigan, J.J. McCarthy led his Wolverines to a National Championship. He did so while passing for 2,991 yards while completing 72.3% of his passes. He tossed 22 touchdowns versus just 4 interceptions.
McCarthy is 21.
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.