NFL Takes Action against J.J. McCarthy
Most fans loved it when J.J. McCarthy stiff-armed a Green Bay Packers defender, delivered a hit on another thereafter, and trash-talked, but the NFL was not impressed. The league fined the Minnesota Vikings quarterback last week, a punctuation mark on a wild season for the 22-year-old.
McCarthy’s fine won’t change the depth chart, but it adds fuel to the maturity angle as the Vikings try to build around the young passer.
Life goes on for McCarthy, and the NFL league office will hope that he learned his lesson.
Why the NFL Fined J.J. McCarthy
McCarthy’s season ended with a team win — and a personal fine.
The NFL’s Discipline of McCarthy
McCarthy’s pocketbook is a bit lighter heading into the 2026 offseason.
NBC Sports‘ Mike Florio wrote late last week, “NINE has gotten fined. The last game of Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s first season included a first-quarter run that ended with a taunting foul.”
“On Saturday, the NFL announced that McCarthy will pay $11,593 for jawing at Packers defenders after a run during which he threw a stiff arm and then a shoulder. It’s part of McCarthy’s feisty persona, one that has drawn scrutiny from coach Kevin O’Connell for celebrating during a naked bootleg touchdown run against the Cowboys last month.”
The fine will fall on the ash heap of history — in time, nobody will care — but McCarthy will presumably learn a lesson henceforth.
The Transaction
No one was too sure if McCarthy would play leading up to Week 18, as the young passer sustained a hairline hand fracture two weeks prior at the New York Giants. But McCarthy gave it a go, and the original plan was for McCarthy to play the 1st Half, hoping to get Justin Jefferson to his 1,000-yard receiving mark in 2025. Then, McCarthy was supposed to sit out the 2nd Half. Instead, he opted to play in the 3rd Quarter, later taking himself out of the lineup after a play. A bizarre day, indeed.
Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber commented on McCarthy’s exit from offense later that day, “I don’t love the theatrics of it. I don’t love the optics of it. There’s so much drama that’s surrounding that. You don’t need to place a towel over your hand. It’s not melting.”
“There’s not a bone sticking out. It’s not disfigured. It’s not harming anybody by looking at it. I think that he’s got a lot to learn about the body language, the behavior, the outward optics of how things look.”
Before that, this play is what prompted the fine from the NFL’s brass:
The comical part? Other quarterbacks, like Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield, do this same act somewhat regularly — and it is championed. McCarthy did it, resulting in a fine.
Maturity in Progress
The fine also brought to light questions about McCarthy’s maturity.
The taunting penalty set his offense back 15 yards, and in theory, McCarthy could have been injured on the play, especially with his rapidly growing reputation as an injury-prone player. Or, for example, in a game at the Dallas Cowboys last month, McCarthy ran a play that allowed him to score easily on a rushing touchdown, where he used the aforementioned Jefferson’s Griddy celebration before crossing the goal line.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell later told reporters that he instructed McCarthy not to do the celebration before scoring that week at practice, to which McCarthy told media members that he had to do it because the defiance was just too irresistible.
While trivial in the grand scheme of McCarthy’s development, some fans have wondered if his maturity is behind schedule.
A Pivotal Offseason for McCarthy & Vikings
On the whole for McCarthy, his general manager and head coach must decide this offseason which kind of quarterback to sign, trade for, or draft. The franchise almost certainly won’t roll into 2026 with Max Brosmer as the primary backup, as Brosmer struggled profusely in two starts.
The Vikings could pursue a seasoned backup like Jimmy Garoppolo to mentor McCarthy, or they could trade for Kyler Murray, for instance, who would likely snatch McCarthy’s job.
SI.com‘s Joe Nelson opined last week on McCarthy’s stakes this offseason, “We’re now exactly two months from the start of the 2026 league year (3 p.m. CT on March 11), and McCarthy, unless the Vikings bring in competition or trade for a star, is in line to be Minnesota’s No. 1 quarterback as a 23-year-old next season.”
“If he is, he’ll have to answer questions about his ability and staying power, all while battling a reputation as a still-maturing player.”
Minnesota could also find a compromise option. Trading for Mac Jones of the San Francisco 49ers to compete with McCarthy this summer fits the criteria.
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