J.J. McCarthy’s Status Comes Down to 1 Item
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has had an injury-riddled first two seasons of his young career, and his status for the season finale is in question because of a hairline fracture in his throwing hand. This week, head coach Kevin O’Connell revealed that his availability will depend on whether he can grip the ball.
“Swelling in that hand has come down a little bit. Really, it’s just gonna be about working through it this week and seeing what his grip strength is like and if he can possibly give it a go this week,” O’Connell declared. “That will be something I’ll keep you guys posted on. It’s just going to be a matter of purely having the grip on the football and getting that to a place where he can potentially go out there and throw it. I’d love to get him one more game.”
The Vikings aren’t worried about re-injury or long-term damage — the decision will come down solely to whether McCarthy can grip and control the football.
Sunday’s decision won’t just affect Week 18 — it could shape how the Vikings approach the quarterback position entering the 2026 offseason. The season finale against the Green Bay Packers is his final chance to re-establish himself as the QB1 for the 2026 campaign.
Throughout the season, McCarthy has completed just 57.3% of his passes for 1,450 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, adding another 174 yards and four scores on the ground. He ranks at or near the bottom in most advanced statistics.
McCarthy has appeared in only nine games this year. With Sam Darnold’s departure to Seattle in March, McCarthy assumed the QB1 job he was drafted for a year prior. The Vikings hoped for minimal growing pains, but Skol Nation had to watch him struggle mightily in his first six starts.
The good news is that he seemed to start turning things around a few weeks ago, when he performed well in consecutive games against the putrid defensive units of the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders.
That positive trend was put on pause because of the hand injury suffered in the following contest against the New York Giants. On his follow-through, he hit the helmet of a defender and left the game after the next series that resulted in a fumble because he couldn’t grip (and throw away) the ball.
Last week, O’Connell praised McCarthy for his development over the previous weeks and months: “I’ve been really, really happy and proud of the way J.J., through the final stanza of the season here, was really, really took some big steps and grown. It’s been a blast being with him every day and being along that ride with him, although we’ve lost time. That doesn’t take away from the growth we’ve seen from J.J. He’s dialed in.”
O’Connell showed that he’s enjoying the recent growth after announcing the injury last week, “It’s just a bummer because it’s been really fun. … I know the week-to-week judgment of players and decisions and all these things that are noise in many cases, I understand it all. But the most fun part of this, and the most real part of it, is coaching the young player on his journey, where we’ve really started to see, kind of, some things click for him.”
If McCarthy can’t go, the Vikings face an uncomfortable reality. Sitting him again would mean he finishes the season with 8.5 games on his resume, missing the other 8.5 games with injuries, raising legitimate questions about whether the team needs a more reliable veteran option behind him in 2026.
Max Brosmer would log his third start if McCarthy isn’t available.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.