The Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback mess has kept J.J. McCarthy in the conversation, but Sunday gave the team another reminder of why they moved on.
McCarthy left the Giants’ third-quarter win over the Philadelphia Eagles with a hip injury, then came back to finish the game anyway. The result held up, but the injury added another familiar chapter to a career already marked by missed time.
That’s the part Minnesota knows all too well. McCarthy was once viewed as the Vikings’ quarterback of the future, but his lone season as a starter never really settled in.
He was chosen to start over bringing back Sam Darnold and signing Aaron Rodgers, then completed 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 10 games. The performance issues mattered, but they weren’t the only problem.
Maturity issues and other behind-the-scenes drama also played a role in the Vikings deciding to trade him to New York in September.
The availability piece may have been just as damaging. McCarthy entered Sunday having completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 495 yards, a touchdown, and an interception with the Giants, but the injury bug followed him again. In his lone year as a starter, he made only 10 starts because he missed five games with a high ankle sprain, one game with a concussion, and another with a fracture in his right throwing hand.
His injury history didn’t stop there. He also left the Week 16 meeting with the Giants and a Week 18 matchup with the Green Bay Packers early and missed the entire 2024 season because of a torn meniscus. That long list of absences, paired with the inconsistency in his play, gave Minnesota plenty of reason to build a deep quarterback room and eventually ship him out.
Sunday’s game showed the same old risk. McCarthy completed 12 of 19 passes for 127 yards and took five sacks before the hip issue surfaced. He doesn’t have to worry about being pulled for performance reasons, since Jaxon Dart is out for the season, but the injury still clouds the win.
The ball-holding habit that showed up in Minnesota could also become a problem again if he stays on the field long enough. That doesn’t make the Vikings’ current quarterback situation any cleaner, especially with Wentz set to start Monday against the Buffalo Bills after what the team is calling another “soft benching.” But McCarthy’s latest setback does make Minnesota’s trade look smarter by the minute.
As the cliché goes, availability is the best ability. Until McCarthy can stay healthy, there’s no guarantee he’ll ever fully cash in on his talent in Minnesota, New York, or wherever he ends up next.
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