Vikings keep the development process for recovering J.J. McCarthy in motion during the bye week

By Canadian Press on October 9, 2025.

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings welcomed their time off from a much-needed bye week, following an unprecedented 10-day, two-game trip to Ireland and England amid an early season surge of injuries.

Not all of the players took a break. J.J. McCarthy had work to do.

After his progression as an NFL quarterback hit another snag with a sprained ankle that sidelined him for the last three games, McCarthy has been entrenched this week at the team’s practice facility upon return from Europe in preparation for the resumption of the schedule.

Though Carson Wentz capably steered them to two victories with a veteran savvy and poise, the Vikings have a 22-year-old to develop in a win-now league. There’s no reason to wait longer to bring McCarthy back if he’s fully healthy. Doing so would be an admission of uncertainty around his ability to do the job.

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has deftly avoided definitive answers when asked recently about the short-term plan. In describing the extensive drills McCarthy would be going through during the bye, however, O’Connell sure made it sound as though his protege will be on the field on Oct. 19 when Minnesota hosts defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia.

“We’ll pick it up officially next week,” O’Connell said Monday, “but I’m encouraged about where he’s at right now.”

After spending his entire rookie season rehabilitating from knee surgery and learning behind the scenes, McCarthy made a splash in his debut with a three-touchdown fourth quarter to rally past Chicago. The sequel was a flop, a lopsided defeat in the home opener to Atlanta fueled by sacks and turnovers. McCarthy was hurt in that game and yielded the following week to Wentz.

“He’s had some real moments of growth through this time, watching Carson,” O’Connell said. “Just seeing the value of putting the ball in play, even when it’s not your first progression, even when it’s not the most exciting completion of all time.”

That’s normal instruction for young quarterbacks, the type of lessons he likely would’ve more fully digested had he been able to play last year. What’s atypical about this situation for the Vikings is that they’re trying to develop McCarthy on the fly with a roster built and financed for a deep run through the playoffs after a 14-win season with Sam Darnold at the helm.

Injuries have already cost the Vikings a cumulative absence of 22 games from the core of their offense, factoring in the optimal starting lineup and key role players and excluding significant stretches of game time missed by the players who were injured and unable to return. This has created yet another hurdle on the path to sustainable success for McCarthy, who has had plenty going on away from football, too: He welcomed a baby boy into his home last month after his fiancée gave birth to the couple’s first child.

The Vikings have frequently given ringing endorsements of McCarthy’s mental acuity, and his coachability and confidence are such that he was voted as one of eight team captains for this season before he’d even taken a meaningful NFL snap.

The current priority for O’Connell is to hone in on the finer points of playing the position, particularly the art of tying the feet to the eyes in the process of dropping back so that the placement and velocity of McCarthy’s passes are regularly in sync with the routes and the protections. O’Connell mentioned this often throughout last year as he helped revive Darnold’s career.

“I think the most critical part is going to be the technique and fundamentals of him playing the position the way he worked so hard to build up throughout the spring and the summer,” O’Connell said. “It’s going to be more about the physical side of his lower-body mechanics and then just trying to put together a game plan for him throughout the process of how much can he do and what’s the soreness level coming out of practices to be able to try to have the most consistent level of a ramp-up as we can with him.”

As for Wentz, who admirably joined the team right before the regular season and found himself starting just three weeks later, he wasn’t worried about whether he’d get to play again when asked about his status following the comeback win over Cleveland.

“I’ve done plenty of looking ahead in my life. I’m done doing that,” Wentz said after throwing the go-ahead touchdown pass to Jordan Addison with 25 seconds left in London on Sunday. “I’m very much trying to live in the moment and appreciate the moment right now.”

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Dave Campbell, The Associated Press