J.J. McCarthy Has Kevin O’Connell Starting to Crack
The Minnesota Vikings committed to J.J. McCarthy this season when they opted against signing Sam Darnold to a multi-year deal.
Kevin O’Connell expected J.J. McCarthy to be further along for the Minnesota Vikings by now, and he continues to show us proof.
They didn’t offer enough to Daniel Jones to keep him around, and Carson Wentz was a last-minute roster addition. That stance was understandable, but it’s evident things have not gone according to plan.
Kevin O’Connell Won’t Say It, but Sunday’s Vikings Starter Seems Obvious
Week 1 saw McCarthy need a fourth-quarter comeback to overcome his poor start to the contest, and Week 2 saw him suffer a high ankle sprain that likely contributed to further poor performance. Since he has been sidelined, both timelines and theories for his return have been floated.
If there has been a telling point in the whole saga, it’s how head coach Kevin O’Connell responded to reporters on Wednesday.
The snappiness of his retort was tinged with disgust over his interest in his quarterback. The problem is that those aren’t the only comments he has made. Earlier in the week, he discussed how nice it was to have McCarthy back on the grass and actually practicing. That’s something that hasn’t happened much in the past year and a half.
O’Connell also talked at length about the need to build McCarthy from the ground up. A focus on his footwork and fundamentals is something they believe needs attention to set him up for success. In year two of his professional career, that’s not the place he was supposed to be in.
It’s likely that O’Connell already knows Carson Wentz is his starting quarterback on Sunday. It’s also becoming increasingly likely that O’Connell sees his young developmental product as both injured and not up to par. No matter what the routine was last year, McCarthy wasn’t able to be on the field after his knee surgery. He has played in two games, forged a 4th Quarter comeback en route to the NFC Offensive Players of the Week in one, and struggled in the next contest.
This isn’t where the Vikings need to be with McCarthy at this point. O’Connell doesn’t want to answer injury questions, and it’s worse; he’s having to discuss rudimentary development problems.
It doesn’t put a nail in the coffin of McCarthy yet, but O’Connell can’t be thrilled this is where he’s at with a situation that should be so far beyond it. Then again, his responses tell us that’s exactly what’s going on.
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