Vikings Fans Anxiously Await Official J.J. McCarthy Status
Will they or won’t they?
Vikings Fans Anxiously Await Official J.J. McCarthy Status
Minnesota Vikings fans on social media Thursday wondered if the franchise would put rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Injured Reserve before August 27th. McCarthy cannot play at all in 2024 if that procedural move occurs. Should August 27th come and go with McCarthy not on IR, he is eligible to return sometime this season.
A couple of sides exist on the budding mystery. Foremost, the Vikings tweeted the following on Wednesday: “J.J. McCarthy underwent successful surgery this morning that required a full repair and he will miss the entire 2024 season.”
The tweet left nothing to the imagination — “he gone” for all of 2024.
Then, however, onlookers pondered why McCarthy wasn’t placed on IR immediately after. Networks like SKOR North questioned why the IR transaction hadn’t occurred. Soon after, Pro Football Talk took the mantle, questioning whether McCarthy would actually miss the entire season.
Florio wrote Thursday morning, “Vikings have yet to place him on injured reserve, which would indeed end his rookie season. If they wait to do it until after the 53-man rosters are set, he could potentially return later in the year.”
“It’s a fair question at this point. A meniscus repair typically isn’t like a torn ACL or a ruptured Achilles,” Florio added. “Unless McCarthy’s situation is such that there’s no way he could recover before the end of the regular season or the Vikings have made the strategic decision not to use him this year at all, even if he could be medically cleared, it’s possible the Vikings will keep the door ajar — without making it a thing.”
Only one item ends the debate — the IR status. As each day passes (or doesn’t pass), fans will wonder if McCarthy could formulate a late-season return, especially if the Vikings’ season is in the toilet. McCarthy may or may not have experienced regular season action this season, but most of the team’s fans wanted him to see playing time so that the 2025 season could start to be for all the marbles.
Florio concluded, “None of it will matter if/when the Vikings put McCarthy on IR before August 27. If they do it after, a return will be theoretically possible.”
Generally speaking, this duo of Vikings leadership, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell, have a documented history of treading cautiously with players’ injury recoveries, so rushing McCarthy back sometime in 2024 feels unlikely.
But folks will cross fingers until IR watch is official. Let’s face it — the Vikings could use some good news.
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 MIN 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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