The Next J.J. McCarthy Health Scare Is Here
Déjá vu in the Twin Cities: Quarterback J.J. McCarthy is once again on the injury report, though early indications point to precautionary measures this time, rather than adding to the extensive absences he has already had in his career.
The Next J.J. McCarthy Health Scare Is Here
Just like with his other two injury issues, everything seemed fine after Sunday’s game versus the Baltimore Ravens. On Wednesday, however, head coach Kevin O’Connell stated that his captain would practice with a bandage on his throwing hand.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported from the coach’s presser: “Also, J.J. McCarthy will have a bandage today on his right hand, per Kevin O’Connell, after hitting it on a helmet Sunday. It is not expected to impact his week of prep ‘very much,’ O’Connell said, and he remains set to play Sunday vs. the Bears.”
McCarthy is coming off a strange game against the Ravens, in which he once again started red hot and cooled off rather quickly. In the fourth quarter, seemingly every pass was inaccurate or left his hand with too much heat. To some extent, his performance in the previous week against the Detroit Lions had a similar trajectory.
To nobody’s surprise, McCarthy was asked about his injury after practice: “[The hand] feels good. Getting a lot of treatment in the last few days, and we’ll continue to do so, but it’s feeling good.”
He revealed that he hit a helmet on a follow-through after a pass to Justin Jefferson. The quarterback made sure to tell the reporters that his hand injury is not an excuse whatsoever, “I definitely felt it, for sure. Ripped one in there pretty good to [Justin Jefferson] and hit a helmet. You’re going to feel it the rest of the way, but there’s no excuses at all. Got to find ways to adapt and make sure the ball gets to the receiver.”
McCarthy’s play has been the focal point of criticism from all around the league, as folks wonder whether the Vikings made a mistake letting Sam Darnold leave for Seattle. Ultimately, the play on the field is what matters, and Darnold is playing at an MVP level. At the same time, McCarthy has seven total touchdowns and six interceptions with an alarming 53.7% completion rate.
However, it’s still noteworthy that McCarthy has played four games in his career and is the second-youngest starting QB in the league, only a few months older than Jaxson Dart. Two of his four starts were road division wins. For the remainder of the season, it’s the McCarthy show anyway, and all we can do is watch him play and judge after the 12 games he will get (barring injury) in his sophomore season.
On Sunday, he’ll face the Chicago Bears. His fourth-quarter heroics in Week 1 gave him his first victory. Strangely, that game had the opposite trajectory from the last two, as he was brilliant late in the game after struggling for three quarters.
Perhaps it’s time to dial back the expectations and hope for him to put together a solid performance for the entire 60 minutes — of course, with some grace, because he is still a work in progress and flaws should still be expected.
This early in the young signal-caller’s career, every game is a major data point for his development. Let’s hope it’s a positive one for the 22-year-old, and staying healthy remains key.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.