It is the ultimate game of wait and see. Minnesota Vikings rookie signal caller J.J. McCarthy will have knee surgery and be sidelined indefinitely after a battery of tests revealed a meniscus tear, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported on Tuesday.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell later informed reporters in a previously impromptu media session that McCarthy has a meniscus tear in his right knee.
“As far as the timeline of the injury, that will be something determined during the procedure, based upon whether it can just be a cleanup or potentially a repair,” O’Connell said on Tuesday.
According to Rapoport, McCarthy would miss several weeks if the meniscus can be trimmed or shaven. If it requires a full repair, McCarthy would miss “many months.”
McCarthy was held out of Monday’s practice with what was initially thought to be run of the mill knee soreness, and further tests revealed a much more serious issue that required surgery.
In his NFL preseason debut on Saturday against the Las Vegas Raiders, McCarthy showed flashes of brilliance in a two-touchdown performance.
McCarthy started slowly after replacing starter Sam Darnold on the Vikings’ second drive, throwing a pick on his fourth play. However, he was not rattled and bounced back nicely, finishing the game 11 of 17 passing for 188 yards with two touchdowns and the INT over his six drives, also adding two rushes for 18 yards.
“I credit J.J. for obviously being able to continue to play,” O’Connell said on Tuesday. “He did not come out of the game from the injury and finished his night with his second touchdown pass. At that point, (he) kind of had reached the snap count I was hoping to get him through the game and at that point was taken out, but at no time did he think it was something that would be something to take him out of the football game and not allow him to play.”
Embed from Getty ImagesOne way or another, this injury will cause a setback and interrupt the Vikings’ strategy they mapped out for their rookie quarterback.
“I had a very clear-cut plan and was going to continue through that with J.J. on the field, getting more and more reps and obviously coming off a performance like he had where we felt strongly about where he was at in his development process,” O’Connell said. “You hurt for him in the short term here because he had such a daily process, focus, all those things that I was really looking for in a young player at the position.
“First and foremost, we will get this procedure done, make sure that we’re doing the right things for him to have the best possible recovery when that takes place.”
The Vikings traded up one spot to select McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft in late April, the fifth quarterback selected overall out of six total in the first round. Minnesota also signed Darnold, who was expected to be the Week 1 starter, earlier in the offseason.
McCarthy, 21 years-of-age, led the Michigan Wolverines to the College Football Playoff in the 2022 season and to a national championship against Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies in the 2023 season, punctuating a perfect 15-0 record under Jim Harbaugh. In three years with the Wolverines, McCarthy threw for 6,226 yards, 49 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, also using his wheels, rushing for 632 yards and 10 additional touchdowns.
