Vikings' J.J. McCarthy recently 'turned a corner' in knee injury rehab
12/16/2024 03:06 PM
The Minnesota Vikings have been arguably the biggest surprise in the NFL this season, and they will have a shot to equal the Detroit Lions 12-2 record on Monday Night Football when they take on the Chicago Bears. Sam Darnold has looked great under center, but what has Minnesota even more excited is that they have J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wings to presumably take over in the near future.
The Vikings selected McCarthy with the 10th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft and had him compete for the starting gig with Darnold. He suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee during preseason, though, which ended his rookie campaign before it truly began. McCarthy has been rehabbing vigilantly since then, and head coach Kevin O’Connell claimed that he had “turned a corner” in his recovery recently.
“From a physical standpoint, McCarthy recently ‘turned a corner,’ O’Connell said. His initial recovery included six weeks of essentially being immobile, forcing him to ride a scooter around the team facility. Swelling developed in early November as he began to ramp up his recovery work, requiring a second procedure on Nov. 11 that resulted in a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection,” Kevin Seifert of ESPN reported.
Vikings hoping J.J. McCarthy will be good to go for 2025 campaign
McCarthy isn’t angling for a return this season, and given how well Darnold has played, they almost certainly won’t need him, barring some sort of unforeseen injury. At some point, though, the quarterback position is going to be handed over to him, so the fact that he’s making progress after he was forced to undergo a second surgery on his knee earlier this year is encouraging.
For now, the team will ride with Darnold, but they will have a big decision to make with him this offseason, as he will be set for a huge payday after his breakout campaign in 2023. Even if he doesn’t return, the Vikings can feel good that they have McCarthy waiting in the wings, and it seems like he’s on the right track to be ready to go for the 2025 campaign.
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