The NFL Takes Some Money Out of J.J. McCarthy’s Wallet
As the No. 10 selection from the 2024 NFL Draft, J.J. McCarthy is already fabulously wealthy (at least by normal standards). However, his show of emotion from Week 18 means he’s just a touch poorer.
On Pro Football Talk, Mike Florio passed along the word: “NINE has gotten fined. The last game of Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s first season included a first-quarter run that ended with a taunting foul. On Saturday, the NFL announced that McCarthy will pay $11,593 for jawing at Packers defenders.”
The NFL Fines Mr. McCarthy
In the grand scheme of things, a fine for talking trash with Packers players isn’t anything to get concerned about.
In fact, the Vikings may have even welcomed the development. McCarthy is a competitive player, one who routinely allows his strong emotions to shine through. Caring so much about winning is a tremendous part of his identity. Partner that strong desire to pile up victories with athleticism, arm talent, and excellent intangibles (work ethic, leadership, and so on). In the end, McCarthy is going to be a good quarterback.
Consider the play below.
To start, there’s the stiff arm. Driving a linebacker into the turf is tremendous stuff. Every linebacker likes getting a free shot at a passer; every linebacker is embarrassed when that passer stiff arms him into oblivion. Were this basketball, McCarthy just put that Packer on a poster.
Finishing off the run meant lowering his shoulder to ensure a defensive back took a shot, as well. Clearly, McCarthy was looking to turn a broken play into a positive play, meaning he wasn’t afraid to get physical.
Further thoughts from Florio, who notes “McCarthy’s feisty persona.” A reflection: “One on hand, he’s young. On the other hand, he needs to control his emotions a little better — at least until he stays healthy and performs at a high level on a consistent basis.”
Therein lies the key, folks.
Playing with tremendous emotion isn’t a bad thing (did that Tom Brady guy ever allow any fire to ignite in him?). Nor, for that matter, is it a bad thing to play with physicality. Even for a quarterback, the sport that’s being played on Sunday is still football.
But then there’s the reality of Mr. McCarthy spending more time in the infirmary than on the field. Later on within the same game, McCarthy needed to step away due to his hand injury. The greatest obstacle standing in front of the 22-year-old passer is his inability to stay on the field.
The Vikings desperately need McCarthy to get his health sorted out. There is no QB development without on-field reps.
By the end of the season, J.J. McCarthy had completed 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He led Minnesota to a 6-4 record across his ten starts.
