The Vikings lost rookie QB J.J. McCarthy in the preseason to a knee injury that required a second surgical procedure.
The Minnesota Vikings lost rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy to a season-ending knee injury in August. McCarthy underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus during the preseason. On Wednesday, the Vikings announced McCarthy had a second surgery on his right knee.
The second procedure was needed after an increase in rehab activity caused swelling in the young passer’s knee, according to ESPN’s Keven Seifert on X. McCarthy was also given a biologic injection. Despite undergoing a second surgery to address a three-month old injury, there is no change to McCarthy’s recovery timeline, per Seifert.
“As his rehab has picked up, we noticed a little swelling in there… Just wanted to make sure there was no cause for concern and all reports were very positive. He’s on the original timeline in good shape,” head coach Kevin O'Connell said, via Adam Schefter on X.
The Vikings selected McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Michigan. He performed well in a quarterback competition with Sam Darnold in the preseason before picking up the devastating injury.
After an excellent preseason debut, there was talk of McCarthy starting for the Vikings over Darnold. However, the following day he missed practice with knee soreness, which turned out to be a season-ending meniscus tear.
Vikings’ rookie QB J.J. McCarthy is still battling a knee injury
The Vikings planned for Darnold to be the team’s starter in an effort to not rush the rookie’s development. And Darnold has played well this season. The Vikings got off to a 5-0 start and enter Week 11 with a 7-2 record.
While Darnold has come back to earth a bit over the last couple weeks, including a three-interception outing against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10, the Vikings continue to win. There is some concern over Darnold’s recent performance as he has five interceptions in the last two games. But Minnesota won both contests.
The seventh-year signal caller has 2,141 passing yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the year – far better stats than the Vikings could have hoped for when they signed Darnold to a one-year, $10 million deal following the departure of Kirk Cousins.
Despite his remarkable resurgence with the Vikings, Darnold will likely move on next year in free agency. Minnesota is anxious to see what they have in McCarthy, who is part of an exceptional quarterback draft class that includes Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Bo Nix. In the meantime, the team’s decision to sign Darnold has allowed them to compete with their promising rookie sidelined.
