Nopedy Nopes: J.J. McCarthy’s Injury, Vikings Center Ryan Kelly, Kahlef Hailassie
Weekly, we track Minnesota Vikings-themed stories that are false, didn’t work out, or are too strange to believe.
From J.J. McCarthy’s injury theory to Ryan Kelly’s status and Kahlef Hailassie’s role, here are the Vikings nopedy nopes for Week 3.
This week, we focus on the J.J. McCarthy conspiracy theory, which is dumb, Ryan Kelly’s availability, and a practice squad theft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
These are the week’s nopedy nopes.
Vikings Nopedy Nopes | September 21, 2025
Items from the week that fall under the “nopedy nope” tab.
The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings faked J.J. McCarthy’s ankle injury because he played too poorly, and they needed a good excuse to bench him — a so-called “soft benching.”
On Monday morning, after McCarthy’s high ankle sprain went public, the internet claimed that the injury could be fake.
Underdog’s Hayden Winks tweeted a video of McCarthy on Monday playing unhobbled despite the ankle injury and wrote, “Suspicion the Vikings are hiding behind injury. This is J.J. McCarthy on the 2nd-to-last play. Looks to be moving well. Not touched on the last play either. Ruled on a Monday? Really??”
Star Tribune’s Michael Rand also posted on X: “I would like to introduce a term, and its possible application to the Vikings QB situation: soft benching.”
Predictably, reporters asked head coach Kevin O’Connell about the “soft benching” theory, and he quickly denied it.
O’Connell said, “No, not at all. In fact, it was pretty crushing this morning to hear that for me. Look, for J.J., he’s in a long process, a long journey right now where there’s going to be some ups and downs, and as a team, I think our ability to play a little bit more consistent around him on the offensive side, these one off, kind of critical errors that end up being totally out of J.J.’s control.”
“We’ve got to find a way to eliminate those and limit them in any way possible. The things that are self-inflicted that our opponent is really not doing a whole lot to cause, those are the things that we need to make sure we wrap our minds around, look at him, meet him head on. That’s us as coaches. You know absolutely myself and then our group, and we’ve got the group to do that. But no, there’s not any aspect of this – this is a purely medical-based thing that we’re dealing with right now.”
A day later, McCarthy was seen walking in an ankle boot for the injury, so if the conspiracy is alive and well, the Vikings are really, really committed to the lie.
The Verdict: McCarthy was not benched for poor performance.
The Nopedy Nope: Ryan Kelly staying healthy for 17 games.
Kelly suffered a concussion on Sunday versus the Atlanta Falcons.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert tweeted on Wednesday, “No surprise, but neither C Ryan Kelly nor LT Justin Skule were on the Vikings’ practice field today during the media viewing portion.. Both are in concussion protocol. J.J. McCarthy, who coach Kevin O’Connell said is wearing a boot on his right ankle, was not there, either.”
The veteran center practiced on Friday, a good sign, but when the rubber hit the road on the final injury report, Minnesota ruled him out. He won’t play on Sunday against the Bengals. Second-year center Michael Jurgens will make his first career start.
Kelly hasn’t experienced a fully healthy season since 2022. Injuries were the only knock on his resume when Minnesota signed him in March.
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on a season’s worth of work for Kelly. He’ll miss at least a game.
The Nopedy Nope: Kahlef Hailassie’s time on the Vikings’ practice squad.
Any team can steal another team’s player from the practice squad at any time — and that’s what happened this week to the Vikings, when the Jacksonville Jaguars thieved safety Kahlef Hailassie.
Jaguars.com announced the transaction: “The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed S Kahlef Hailassie, the team announced today. Hailassie was most recently on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad. He joined the Vikings this offseason after spending his first two NFL seasons with the Cleveland Browns (2023-24).
“With Cleveland, Hailassie played in 10 games (one start) and recorded six tackles (one for loss) and one pass defensed as well as two special teams tackles. He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Kansas City in May of 2023 and spent the offseason with the Chiefs before being waived and joining the Browns.”
Hailassie made a name for himself during the preseason as a Viking, intercepting two passes in the same game against the Houston Texans.
Jacksonville cut veteran Darnell Savage, of former Green Bay Packers fame, loose this week, and Hailassie is a part of the replacement plan.
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on Hailassie’s time in the Twin Cities. The relationship lasted eight months.
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