The Minnesota Vikings selected former Michigan standout J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft with hopes that he will turn into their franchise quarterback of the future. And while that may still happen, his rookie season is seemingly now destined to get off to a very slow start.
McCarthy appeared in the team’s opening preseason game last weekend, throwing for 188 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. It was a good account of his skills that the Vikings were seemingly sold on in the draft.
However, his performance also seemingly led to what has quickly become a big setback to his rookie season. McCarthy missed practice on Monday after experiencing soreness in his knee, which was expected to sideline him for a short period of time.
Now, we unfortunately know that this knee soreness will actually be a much longer-term injury for the rookie quarterback. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, McCarthy is set to undergo knee surgery that “will determine how much time he will be sidelined”.
ESPN Sources: Vikings rookie first-round pick J.J. McCarthy is expected to be undergo knee surgery that will determine how much time he will be sidelined. McCarthy complained about knee soreness over the weekend, and underwent an MRI on Monday night. pic.twitter.com/EdqV8JSoNc
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 13, 2024
Obviously, this is a worst-case scenario for the Vikings, as they seemingly hoped McCarthy would compete for the starting job in Minnesota early on in his rookie campaign.
Instead, it will seemingly be Sam Darnold moving forward at quarterback for the team until McCarthy can return to the field and get back up to speed.
Still, McCarthy seems to be optimistic about his chances of bouncing back quickly from this setback. He took to social media to offer an encouraging message to Vikings fans, who in turn wished for his quick recovery.
Love you Viking nation. I’ll be back in no time. Amor fati
— J.J. McCarthy (@jjmccarthy09) August 13, 2024
