Vikings Reveal Some Sweet J.J. McCarthy News
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Vikings acquired Adam Thielen via trade to set up their new starting quarterback for success ahead of the season opener versus the Chicago Bears on September 8th. With just over a week to go, the young passer has already gotten the respect of his teammates, it seems.
Vikings Reveal Some Sweet J.J. McCarthy News
This time of the year, the teams announce their annual captains, and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell did just that in his Thursday presser.
- QB J.J. McCarthy
- WR Justin Jefferson
- RB Aaron Jones
- OT Brian O’Neill
- OLB Jonathan Greenard
- S Josh Metellus
- S Harrison Smith
- LS Andrew DePaola
The official league handbook states that there can be a maximum of six captains, but this isn’t enforced, and teams often disregard the rule. The number of team captains is different around the league, but Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings stick with eight.
Of those eight, Justin Jefferson, Brian O’Neill, Josh Metellus, Harrison Smith, and Andrew DePaola were captains last year. J.J. McCarthy was hurt, while Jonathan Greenard and Aaron Jones didn’t get the nod.
C.J. Ham, who is on IR, was a captain last year, and so were Sam Darnold and Harrison Phillips.
McCarthy takes over the Darnold. The notable aspect is that O’Connell allows his players to vote, and the locker room decided that McCarthy deserved the honor.
The head coach said Thursday, “You can’t fool your teammates. And that can work in a positive way and a negative way. But I think these guys have just watched the way he’s worked, not only this spring and training camp, but I think it goes back beyond that, throughout the time of rehab, dealing with having the game taken away from him. When you do it the way we do it and the players get to decide, those votes and those results normally speak pretty loudly about what the team thinks of certain players, and J.J. is definitely one of them.”
Every player who’s asked about the sophomore since his first few days in the Twin Cities points to his natural leadership ability.
Phillips, who is no longer with the Vikings after being traded to the New York Jets, has been in a few locker rooms. In June, he emphasized how impressed he was with McCarthy’s personality.
“He’s really stepped up in the personal power role, where just in the locker room, I’m constantly seeing him going to new guys, to new players, introduce, dapping each other up, sitting on the couches and just having conversation,” Phillips stressed. “Where last year, it was off to rehab, off to meetings. He understands that we have to build a family here, and you can’t have unique results without unique relationships that we believe in. And then, man, he’s got some confidence. He reminds me of like Josh Allen when I was with him in Buffalo, coming into his own and understanding the power that he has to lead this organization. And he’s doing a fantastic job doing that.”
Any comparisons to Josh Allen are good comparisons. McCarthy’s on-field performances were up-and-down throughout the summer, but considering he faced a Brian Flores-led defense that should be amongst the league’s best, that’s not bad at all. When he competed against the New England Patriots in joint practices, McCarthy was sharp.
Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman declared last summer: “Yeah, 21 years old, but a great young man. He’s a leader. He is eager to learn. A lot of young guys, sometimes they can come in, be a little timid or shy,” Cashman said. “But he’s walking around the locker room, big smile on his face, shaking hands, getting to know everybody.”
Mind you, McCarthy was a rookie back then. Regardless, none of that is surprising. Everyone who went to battle with the young signal-caller in his college days praised him for his leadership, and every scouting report suggested his prowess in that regard.
Much more of a mystery is his play on the field. He’s set up well behind a nice offensive line, with weapons all over the place, especially once Jordan Addison returns. The defense is good, and the coaching staff, well, his mentor has a Coach of the Year trophy somewhere.
McCarthy, 22, will be the deciding factor of how good the 2025 Vikings are.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.