Minneapolis — The Minnesota Vikings' greatest fear is now a reality. Their rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy's season is over before it began. McCarthy is out of the 2024 season with a torn meniscus after surgery revealed that a repair was necessary.
McCarthy had a very solid outing during The Vikings 24-23 preseason victory over The Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday. The Vikings first round draft pick completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Monday, McCarthy informed the team he was experiencing some knee soreness. Tuesday, Vikings Head Coach, Kevin O'Connell informed the media, McCarthy required surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee. Following the procedure, on Aug. 14, the team learned McCarthy will be sidelined for the entire 2024 season.
Love you Viking nation. I'll be back in no time. Amor fati
On Wednesday, O'Connell expressed optimism about McCarthy's future in The NFL.
"Everyone should just be excited about the fact that we've got our young franchise quarterback, I believe in the building," O'Connell said. "And now it's about the unique aspect of continuing a very critical development process for him where maybe the physical reps aren't going to be there in the short term but this is going to be a small bump in the road. Other quarterbacks in our league have gone through similar things early on in their journey and came back stronger and better than ever. That is not only my expectation, I know it's going to happen for J.J."
McCarthy was the No. 10 overall pick during April's NFL Draft. He was battling Sam Darnold for the starting quarterback position. Darnold is expected to be The Vikings starting QB for their Week 1 match up against The New York Giants.
In January, McCarthy helped lead The Michigan Wolverines to their first national championship since 1977.
Desmond Purnell
