J.J. McCarthy Knee Injury Puts Damper on a Good Preseason Outing
Last Saturday’s opening preseason game with the Raiders wound up as a good news, bad news situation for the Vikings, largely due to J.J. McCarthy.
The good news was the Vikings’ first preseason win since 2019. I always say if you have to play these August games that don’t count in the standings, you may as well win them and build a bit of confidence in the team and the fan base. Kevin O’Connell was happy to get his first preseason win and to do it at home. More important was that several players made a splash in the 24-23 victory.
The Vikings, The Preseason, & J.J. McCarthy
One of those players was first-round QB J.J. McCarthy and therein lies the bad news of McCarthy coming out of the game with a meniscus tear in his right knee. He will undergo surgery that will determine if a trimming of the meniscus will be done which would only make him sit out a few weeks so he could return by early in the regular season. But it it requires a full repair, that would put him out for several months.
It’s a set back for a player who impressed in his first game, completing 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards and leading the comeback with two third-quarter TD passes when the Vikings trailed 20-7. It was especially impressive to see McCarthy rebound from an early second quarter interception on a late throw to make the big plays in the third quarter.
He will now miss valuable reps in this week’s joint practices in Cleveland along with in remaining training camp practices where he was going to get more reps with the starters in the coming weeks. Once the regular season starts, it’s hard for the backup QB to get reps other than with the scout team as the coaches have to focus on and prepare the starter—Sam Darnold, in this case.
In my team exec years, I hated preseason games because of the injury risk. I think we’ll soon not have any preseason games with joint practices taking their place (where valuable and highly paid QBs wear red jerseys and can’t be hit) in preparing teams for the regular season.
So we wait on the McCarthy verdict after his surgery and meanwhile it was encouraging to see Darnold play well in his one series against the Raiders defensive starters (and without the NFL’s best receiver as Justin Jefferson sat out, which was the right call by Kevin O’Connell). I was especially impressed with Darnold’s arm strength and touch on the 26-yard pass play to Jalen Nailor in which he threw over a linebacker and in front of the secondary.
Darnold also showed better mobility than I expected when he rolled away from Pro Bowl DE Maxx Crosby.
Now the Vikings must keep Darnold healthy as they approach the regular season and hope he can finally produce as he was expected to when he was picked third overall by the Jets in 2018. Watching Nick Mullens almost throw several picks in the Monday night practice should again make the coaches skittish about ever having to play him in a regular season game as we saw last season with so many interceptions from him.
The Vikings ran the ball well without starting back Aaron Jones in the lineup. This is a definite point of emphasis this season after having the 29th ranked rushing attack in 2023. And it’s important to have a more balanced offense between run and pass with a new starting QB.
With the Vikings starting offense moving the ball well–even if it was only preseason—I don’t expect to see any starters play in the next two preseason games. The Vikings first-stringers will see a lot of action in the two days of joint practices this week in Cleveland so there’s no need to expose them in a game that doesn’t count in the standings.
Here are some other players besides Darnold and McCarthy who I was impressed with in the Raider game and in watching them in training camp practices:
On offense, Blake Brandel—the new starting left guard in his fourth season adds size at 6-7, 315 pounds and was part of a more physical O-line that paved the way for 142 rushing yards. Both the first and second O-lines opened holes and pass protected well with no sacks allowed (but a couple hard hits on McCarthy unfortunately).
Kene Nwangwu—he had a 48-yard TD burst and should be the third back behind Jones and Ty Chandler (and with his speed, he may push Chandler for snaps) as well as the kickoff returner which has been his forte when he’s been healthy.
Jalen Nailor—he’s looked great in camp and excelled in the game with three catches for 63 yards. He’s locked down the third receiver role and will be an explosive addition to the lineup when the Vikings go three-WRs with Jefferson and Jordan Addison. The key for Nailor is staying healthy which has been a problem early in his career.
Trishton Jackson—he had four catches for 100 yards and ran a great go-route that McCarthy delivered on with a perfect 45-yard TD strike that got the Vikings back in the game at 20-14. Jackson has made a lot of nice catches in practices and he should make the team and push Brandon Powell for the fourth receiver spot.
On defense, Dallas Turner—wow, watching him speed-rush a three-time Pro Bowler in Andrus Peat and explode around the corner to sack Aidan O’Connell on third-and-goal from the 3 was extremely encouraging. As I’ve often said since he was drafted No. 17 overall, I think Turner is a key to the season on defense as a potential double-digit sacker along with Jonathan Greenard to replace Danielle Hunter’s massive production.
Andrew Van Ginkel—speaking of edge rushers, Van Ginkel didn’t play in the game but he made his presence felt in Monday night’s practice at TCO Stadium with a Pick Six off Darnold in a team drill. He looks very fast and athletic and should be a great chess piece in the pass rush, in coverage and on run D for DC Brian Flores.
Brian Asamoah—the third-year linebacker is part of the disappointing 2022 draft class. He was the third-rounder that year and has battled injuries and inconsistency but he is so athletic and flashed in this game with six tackles and a half-sack. Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace look great as the starting inside linebackers but Asamoah can contribute on defense and special teams if he keeps it up.
Levi Drake Rodriguez—Flores praised him last week as the seventh-round pick has proven to be athletic and a high-energy player on the defensive line. He showed up in the Raider game with a sack, two tackles, and a tackle-for-loss. He should make the final roster.
Bo Richter—I love seeing undrafted free agents make a push to earn a roster spot and Richter clearly is doing that as an edge/outside linebacker who had a sack, two tackles-for-loss and five tackles in the game and has impressed in camp. He may wind up sticking initially on the practice squad but he’s going to be here this season.
On special teams, both rookie kicker Will Reichard and punter Ryan Wright had excellent games. It was a good sign to see Reichard boot the game-winning 38-yard field goal as time expired after having his first field goal attempt blocked. And in the Monday night practice, he made all six of his field goal attempts.
Wright averaged 57 yards on his three punts including a 53-yarder resulting in a fair catch that pinned the Raiders deep in their territory in the final two minutes to help set up the Vikings game-winning drive. Wright’s net average and inside-the-20 numbers dipped last season compared to his excellent rookie year in 2022 so the Vikings hope he gets back to his better production levels. He’s also a fine holder.
Unfortunately I’m not seeing any of the cornerbacks beyond Byron Murphy do much to impress in practices or the first preseason game. The two Raider QBs competing for the starting job—O’Connell and Gardner Minshew—passed for 193 yards combined in the first half and that was without their top receiver Davante Adams.
Which again brings us to the urgency to sign Stephon Gilmore, the five-time Pro Bowl corner who came in on Monday for a visit but left without signing. I say pay him the $10 million he earned with the Cowboys last year and make him an immediate starter at one of the outside corner spots along with Murphy and with Shaquill Griffin taking an outside corner spot (if he can recover from his hamstring injury and stay healthy) when Murphy moves into the slot corner position. Akayleb Evans needs to be a backup and continue to be coached up.
It’s a good thing that Andrew Booth Jr, was traded because the second-rounder from 2022 was a bust here. And it would be a surprise if the Vikings have a keeper in corner Nahshon Wright who was acquired from Dallas for Booth.
I’ll have further thoughts on Vikings players making a move or not after this week’s joint practices with the Browns and preseason game No. 2.
Vikings Rookie QB Hits the Shelf
Jeff Diamond is a former Vikings GM, former Tennessee Titans President and was selected NFL Executive of the Year after the Vikings’ 15-1 season in 1998. He now works for the NFL agent group IFA based in Minneapolis and does other sports consulting and media work along with college/corporate speaking. Follow him and direct message him on Twitter– @jeffdiamondnfl
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