J.J. McCarthy’s Return to Vikings Takes Shape
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain in a Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and has not been seen since. But per credible reporting, McCarthy’s return is near, and any wacky theories about an intentional benching are false.
J.J. McCarthy’s reunion with the Minnesota Vikings has begun to become clearer, thanks to reporting from NFL Network and a bye week ahead.
The 22-year-old will return sometime after the bye week, which is right now, and the only matter left to resolve is which game.
J.J. McCarthy Will Return to Vikings as QB1 Soon
It’s now only a matter of “when.”
Vikings to Use Bye Week for J.J. McCarthy’s Return
Minnesota embarks on a bye following a two-game trip to Dublin and London. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the team will proceed as if McCarthy is the QB1 and gauge his progress in the next 1-2 weeks.
“My understanding is the plan is for McCarthy to return to practice next week, get some reps during the bye. They’ll see how he does. Then, try to get him back to full participation heading into Week 7 against the Eagles,” Pelissero said on NFL Network airwaves.
Until Pelissero’s remark, fans had curiously wondered if Minnesota would be in a hurry to get McCarthy back under center. The answer appears to be yes — when McCarthy has fully healed.
No “Soft Benching”
Pelissero also went out of his way to assure the masses that McCarthy wasn’t benched for poor performance in Week 2, a semi-popular sentiment in Vikings-themed conspiracy theory circles.
“Let’s be clear: The Vikings are not just focused on when and how quickly they can get J.J. back on the field. They’re also focused on when they can get him in a groove and ready to play well. This is not some type of soft benching. He has a legit high ankle sprain,” Pelissero cleared the air.
“This is a guy who not only missed his entire rookie season because of knee surgery, he hasn’t practiced on consecutive days since before the Week 1 opener this year. They do want to get, and fully intend, for J.J. McCarthy to be back in the lineup, but they want to be smart about how they do it.”
The “soft benching” theory made zero sense in the first place, and now it is totally deceased thanks to Pelissero’s reporting.
Week 7 or Week 8 Seems Logical
Now — the fun part. When will McCarthy return? In Week 7, at home, Minnesota will face the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, not an ideal opponent for an inexperienced passer, but the Vikings are probably past the deadline for catering to McCarthy’s needs. The guy needs to play.
If he doesn’t trend well during the bye week, Minnesota would turn around four days after the Eagles showdown and take on the Los Angeles Chargers on the road. Yes, McCarthy’s first game back from a high ankle sprain would pit him against his college coach.
Otherwise, the ultra-cautious plan is in Week 9 on the road at Detroit.
High ankle sprains for quarterbacks take 4-6 weeks to heal on average. Here’s a look at the timing if McCarthy’s injury wasn’t more severe than most:
- 4 Weeks from 9/14: 10/12 — Bye
- 5 Weeks from 9/14: 10/19 — PHI
- 6 Weeks from 9/14: 10/26 — after LAC
Over the next 13 days, until the meeting against the Philadelphia, fully expect the attention to focus on McCarthy as a “Will he or won’t he?” for Week 7.
Carson Wentz Decent in the Meantime
Without McCarthy, the Vikings have leaned on Carson Wentz. The team has a 2-1 record on his watch, and Wentz has performed serviceably as a backup quarterback.
EPA+CPOE, a stat that measures points added per quarterback, ranks Wentz as the NFL’s 11th-best passer. Not bad. ESPN’s QBR metric calls Wentz the NFL’s sixth-worst signal-caller. This basically means that Wentz lives somewhere in the middle.
If McCarthy does not play in 13 days, Wentz will square off against the team that drafted him 9.5 years ago.
Janik Eckardt on McCarthy
Our Janik Eckardt weighed in on McCarthy’s impending return Monday: “The soft benching rumors have always been quite absurd. Some suggested that the Michigan alumnus didn’t play well, and the Vikings invented an injury as a reason to give him some time off, completely going against everything O’Connell has ever said (or done) about quarterback development.”
“He seems to be a fan of players working through their issues on the field, and it’s not as if the struggles of a 22-year-old in his first games came as a surprise. The Vikings want McCarthy to log a full week of practice before throwing him out there, and considering the operational flaws in his first two games, he (and the offense) certainly need those reps.”
McCarthy notably furnished a 4th Quarter Comeback in his first-ever start, but played terribly the following week against the Falcons.
“Expect the signal-caller to return to practice in some capacity in the upcoming days, and he’ll slowly ramp up his workload. If that’s enough for a Week 7 start against the Philadelphia Eagles, that remains to be seen and is a question for next week. McCarthy has played in two games, going 1-1,” Eckardt added.
“He has three touchdowns (one rushing) and three interceptions in his NFL resume.”
The Vikings have a 16% chance of reaching the postseason in 2025, according to DVOA.
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