Controversy Erupts over J.J. McCarthy’s Injury
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy had an injection this week as the next step in his injury recovery, but many outlets reported the procedure as “another surgery,” causing Vikings fans to fear the worst.
Controversy Erupts over J.J. McCarthy’s Injury
McCarthy tore his meniscus in August and has missed his entire rookie campaign, placed on Injured Reserve three months ago, with no chance of returning in 2024.
“As his rehab has picked up, we noticed a little swelling in there, and just with the time that we do have … we just wanted to make sure there was no cause for concern. All reports were very positive, and he’s on the original timetable and in good shape,” O’Connell told reporters Wednesday.
Pretty mundane verbiage from the head coach, right? Nope. Social media users interpreted the injection as a true-blue emergency surgery.
And those were just a teensy fraction of the comments and retweets regarding the surgery vs. injection debate.
In McCarthy’s stead, veteran passer Sam Darnold has filled in at QB1, leading the Vikings to an impressive 7-2 record. Darnold ranks 11th in the NFL among qualifying quarterbacks, per EPA+CPOE, an efficiency metric measuring expected wins added.
But the future is about McCarthy, so any news that doesn’t expressly indicate a spotless recovery is classified as adverse.
O’Connell also told the media, “He’s really knocked it out of the park every step of the way, and as his rehab has picked up, we noticed a little swelling in there. He’s been doing everything we asked of him, but just wanted to make sure that there was no cause for concern, and all reports were very positive.”
Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling added about the budding controversy: “Source confirmed ESPN’s Kevin Seifert’s report that J.J. McCarthy had a biologic injection to deal with intermittent swelling in his knee. No change to his recovery timeline. To be clear: Source said it was just an injection for McCarthy. No second surgery.”
Doctor of Physical Therapy Jeff Mueller tweeted, too: “New update on JJ McCarthy seems to indicate the ‘procedure’ was just an injection/biologics, which are typically used to help heal and get inflammation down. No 2nd surgery. Makes me feel a lot better about it. Common to manage joint line irritation with ramp ups. It all has to do with how the cartilage is responding to loading and ground reaction forces. This should lower everyone’s concerns.”
So, like many internet flare-ups, this one boils down to semantics. McCarthy’s recovery might seem stunted if the reader considers an injection an unplanned surgery. If one doesn’t think an injection is an unplanned surgery, the update is a nothingburger.
The injection did not alter McCarthy’s original recovery timeline. He should be fully healthy by February.
Former Viking Dropped by Lions
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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