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Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy missed his entire rookie season due to injury, and after just two games of the 2025 campaign, he’s expected to miss more time.
McCarthy is expected to be sidelined for two to four weeks due to a high-ankle sprain suffered in Sunday night’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, according to ESPN.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday morning that McCarthy was “very sore” after the injury, and he would likely be missing Week 3’s contest against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are dealing with their own quarterback issues, as Joe Burrow could miss most of the regular season because surgery is needed to recover from turf toe suffered Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“We are not planning on having [McCarthy] for Sunday,” O’Connell told reporters. “I don’t see this being any kind of short-term IR thing, but I do want to see how he responds to treatment this week.”
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McCarthy was sacked six times in the 22-6 loss in the Vikings’ home opener on Sunday night, and he was sacked three times in a thrilling come-from-behind victory against the Chicago Bears in his NFL debut. But McCarthy didn’t have any fourth-quarter magic this time, as he threw two interceptions and no touchdowns in a struggling performance that resulted in more than just a loss.
McCarthy missed the entire 2024 season after being selected by the Vikings in the first round, where he was expected by many to begin his rookie year in a starting role. He tore his meniscus early in training camp, which gave the keys to O’Connell’s offense to Sam Darnold, who led Minnesota to a 14-3 record. Darnold is now 1-1 to start his season with the Seattle Seahawks.
McCarthy, despite his fourth-quarter comeback in Chicago, hasn’t been the most efficient quarterback in his first two NFL starts. He has a QBR of 20.4, which ranks 32nd out of 33 qualified quarterbacks in the league to begin the 2025 season. He has completed 24 of 41 passes for 301 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions over two games.
With McCarthy sidelined, O’Connell will hand the reins to Carson Wentz, the 32-year-old who has played a backup role for the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs the last two seasons.
The Vikings are also dealing with injury news for veteran running back Aaron Jones Sr., who suffered a hamstring injury that ended his game prematurely.
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