On Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings announced that rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy will undergo surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee. The procedure will sideline him for an undetermined amount of time, per ESPN.
NFL Media reports that tests done on McCarthy’s sore knee revealed a meniscus issue. If it’s a meniscus trim, he would reportedly miss a few weeks. If it’s a repair, McCarthy would be out months. With this development, it would appear Sam Darnold will be the Vikings’ starting QB to begin the 2024 season.
McCarthy came into the facility Monday and reported knee soreness, leading the team to hold him out of practice. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said McCarthy had “some kind of routine soreness that a lot of guys after their first preseason game sometimes come in with, and it was something we wanted to be smart about,” via ESPN.
“Out of precaution, we’re going to continue an evaluation on him and get some more testing done,” O’Connell said. “[He is a] very important player, obviously, so we want to make sure we’re smart before he participates, making sure we have a good understanding of where he’s at.”
Obviously, those tests revealed bad news.
McCarthy played in Minnesota’s preseason opener two days before reporting soreness, making a strong debut by completing 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns (one each to Trent Sherfield and Trishton Jackson), along with an interception. He has been operating as the No. 2 quarterback behind Darnold throughout the offseason. For his part, Darnold went 4 of 8 for 59 yards during the preseason game.
Minnesota is already dealing with the absence of one important player early on this season, as tight end T.J. Hockenson is still working his way back from an ACL tear suffered late last season. The Vikes could also be without wide receiver Jordan Addison, who is expected to receive some sort of suspension after his DUI arrest earlier this summer.
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Author: Jared Dubin
August 13, 2024 | 12:50 pm
