J.J. McCarthy is the Plan, and That Never Changed.
Discourse regarding the quarterback of the future for the Minnesota Vikings, J.J. McCarthy, has been running rampant amongst Vikings fans on social media, proving that this fan base can truly never ever be happy with anything. Even when the Vikings finally do the thing and draft a true quarterback of the future, it is still not enough for many purple and gold “loyalists” around the kingdom.
All of the Vikings’ fandom was in agreement that the purple team needed to take a signal-caller in the 2024 NFL Draft, and that’s exactly what they did. Of course, Minnesota didn’t even have to trade up a staggering amount to get their guy; they only traded up one spot with the Jets to ensure that they wouldn’t get jumped by another quarterback-needy team like the Denver Broncos, who ultimately stuck with their pick at 12th overall and drafted Bo Nix out of Oregon.
McCarthy obviously ended up missing all of his rookie season after tearing his meniscus in the preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. Now, in 2025, he is missing games again.
The young buck suffered a high ankle sprain in Minnesota’s Week 2 loss on Sunday Night Football against fellow 2024 NFL Draft first-round selection Michael Penix Jr. and his Atlanta Falcons. This injury has cost McCarthy five games of his (virtual) rookie season, though he has been named the emergency QB3 for the last two weeks behind rookie Max Brosmer and current starter Carson Wentz.
Because of all of these missed games due to injury, there is unrest amongst fans in Minnesota and elsewhere. With the rise of Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and other young QBs around the NFL, uncertainty has been creeping in for a while regarding J.J. McCarthy and whether or not he’s the guy.
It’s understandable to have concerns about McCarthy’s durability, but there isn’t a ton to go on regarding his development as an NFL QB. Obviously, his absence from the field puts that development on ice, but he has appeared in only two NFL games. It is too early to tell whether or not he is the guy.
McCarthy is projected to return in Week 9 on the road against the Detroit Lions in a big-time NFC North matchup. This should help minimize the “soft-benching” rumors, as bringing McCarthy out against the best team in the NFC isn’t really something you’d do when you’re trying to “hide” him.
This, coupled with the fact that head coach Kevin O’Connell himself confirmed that they won’t bring him back until he’s 100%, and this coming week will mark the 6th week in the 4-6 week recovery time frame given when it comes to nursing a high ankle sprain.
There is no ploy to hide or soft-bench McCarthy. NFL teams don’t go away from their young QB after two games where he wasn’t exactly great, especially when he was playing injured in one of them, and the other option is a mediocre-at-best Carson Wentz.
McCarthy has been, still is, and will be the plan going forward because there is no other option. His injury caused Minnesota to be behind on the plan anyway, and they won’t delay that any more than they feel they have to.
