A Vikings Conspiracy Theory Turned Out to Be a Nothingburger
J.J. McCarthy was drafted a year ago to become the new franchise quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. Fast forward ten months, and the passer has been included in a rather strange offseason conspiracy theory surrounding his weight.
A Vikings Conspiracy Theory Turned Out to Be a Nothingburger
What happened?
Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post noted a couple of weeks ago, “Sam Darnold’s brutal play in Week 18 and the playoffs had many writing him off in Minnesota. Not so fast. Several executives from QB-needy teams, who would have at least some interest in Darnold, suggested he’s not going anywhere. I hear that J.J. McCarthy, who lost his entire rookie year to injury, still has significant work to do to rebuild his body, let alone adjust to the NFL.”
That came a few weeks after pictures of McCarthy from the sidelines of the Week 18 game went viral, suggesting that his body doesn’t look like that of an NFL quarterback.
However, that totally ignored the fact that it’s quite normal for NFL players to lose weight in the offseason, especially when they recover from injuries. And the quarterback doesn’t expect to take a hit for another six months.
Amid the annual draft combine, Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling reported on Tuesday, “Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is back over 200 pounds, as he continues his return from his meniscus surgery in August. He could be a regular participant in the team’s offseason program when it starts in April.”
McCarthy is definitely one of the lighter quarterbacks in the NFL, but he bulked up ahead of last year’s combine and weighed in at 219 pounds. As a 22-year-old athlete, it’s not hard for him to quickly add some clean weight, and Goessling squashed the last ounce of concern.
The young quarterback went on a mini-media tour during Super Bowl week. He told SI, “It’s going amazing; ahead of schedule, on track, whatever you want to call it, but it’s going good, and we’ll be ready in around 67 days for OTAs, and we’re running, throwing, everything feels great.”
He then went on the Rich Eisen Show, “I’m feeling fantastic, Rich, couldn’t be in a better spot honestly, mentally, physically, spiritually, and we’re just continuing to stack days at this point and, you know, with around 67 days till OTAs, we got a lot of time but not a lot of time to waste.”
McCarthy suffered a torn meniscus last August after one promising preseason performance. The Vikings and the player elected to perform the long-term procedure that would knock him out of his entire rookie season but also secure optimal long-term health.
A couple of weeks ago, NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero wrote, “McCarthy, who had a full repair of his torn meniscus in August and an additional procedure in November, is expected to begin football drills in the next few weeks and should be ready to roll by OTAs in May.”
McCarthy should be expected to be 100% when the team meets for training camp in July, and he might even be full-go by the time the roster is back for offseason workouts in May.
It remains to be seen whether he will actually be named Minnesota’s QB1 at some point in the next six months, but neither his knee nor his weight seem to be an issue as we advance.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt