J.J. McCarthy Is (Kind of) Back
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has not played since Week 2, a Sunday night game against the Atlanta Falcons. Six days after delivering a fourth-quarter comeback in his NFL debut, the young passer played a poor football game. Additionally, he picked up an ankle injury that has sidelined him since. He’ll (somewhat) be back on Sunday.
J.J. McCarthy Is (Kind of) Back
Minnesota’s QB1 will reach the five-week mark of his ankle injury on Sunday. The recovery timelines he received for his injury were all between two and six weeks, the sophomore revealed earlier this week. He also told the media that his ankle isn’t at 100%, which is why the Vikings have opted for the cautious approach, and Carson Wentz will be under center against his former team.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell announced on Friday that McCarthy will function as the emergency quarterback behind starter Wentz and backup Max Brosmer.
O’Connell said, “I thought [Carson] had a good week of practice, as well as J.J.,” O’Connell mentioned Friday. “I was really proud of the work [J.J.] put in, as he kind of continues to push through the later stages of this rehab. Feel good about him being available, but he will be the emergency third quarterback. We went into the last game with two (QBs) and didn’t quite feel like that was the smartest thing to do — and feel good about where he’d be at if he had to play in that third quarterback capacity. So Max [Brosmer] will back up Carson Wentz.”
The emergency quarterback can only enter the game in case of an, well, emergency. If both Wentz and Brosmer were unable to continue, McCarthy would be asked to enter the game. That rule was implemented after the San Francisco 49ers had to compete in an NFC title game with Christian McCaffrey taking snaps, as starter Brock Purdy and backup Josh Johnson were knocked out with injuries.
It’s certainly unlikely, though not impossible, that McCarthy will get in-game reps. However, one advantage is that he gets an additional throwing session in pre-game warmups. Furthermore, he’ll be dialed in, from changing clothes in the locker room to pre-game rituals, warmups, and listening to play-calls on the sidelines.
All of that could play a minor role in getting up to speed and improving ahead of his third start, which will come at some point in the near future.
O’Connell added, “[J.J.] got a ton of reps this week, both with the first group and also with getting some real good reps with that ‘look’ team of feeling the rush of [Jonathan] Greenard and [Dallas] Turner and [Javon] Hargrave and [Jonathan] Allen, and really working on some things that are really starting to come to fruition. So I was proud of the way he attacked the week. And I know, although he knows he’s not quite all the way there, yet, he’s progressing in a really good way.”
McCarthy’s first two starts were disappointing overall, although the fourth-quarter comeback undoubtedly revealed some of his talent. The hope is that the few weeks of only practicing help the young signal-caller in terms of fundamentals and mechanics, but also help him feel more comfortable within the offense.
McCarthy is 22 years old. Don’t be surprised to see McCarthy, who is officially listed as questionable, in uniform on Sunday.
His next chance to start will come on Thursday, when the squad faces his college coach, Jim Harbaugh, and his Los Angeles Chargers. If that short week doesn’t give him enough time for his comeback, McCarthy could return after the mini-bye.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.