Rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy missing the entire 2024 season due to meniscus surgery is all too painfully familiar for the Minnesota Vikings.
He became the third Vikings first-round draft-pick quarterback since 2005 to deal with a knee injury and miss significant time. Daunte Culpepper, the No. 11 pick in 1999, became the first 19 years ago when he shredded his knee and missed the rest of the 2005 season. Teddy Bridgewater, the No. 32 pick in 2014, sustained a catastrophic knee injury in 2016 and missed almost two seasons.
Culpepper had the most single-season passing yards record before his 2005 injury amid a future full of promise as a three-time Pro Bowler. Bridgewater came off of a Pro Bowl season in 2015 and looked to take the next step with the new U.S. Bank Stadium opening at the time.
Neither quarterback returned to the field with the Vikings the same and eventually landed with different teams. Ironically, both had stints with two of the same teams, the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, before their once-promising careers ended.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and company want to flip that script with McCarthy, the No. 10 pick out of Michigan in this year’s NFL Draft. While O’Connell said he’s “crushed” over McCarthy’s injury, he sees better things ahead for the former Wolverine and national champion in the NFL.
“And now, it’s just 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,” O’Connell added. “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 come back stronger and better than ever. And that is not only my expectation—I know that is going to happen for J.J.”
For now, the Vikings have a veteran quarterback and former No. 3 pick in Sam Darnold under center. His first two NFL stops with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers didn’t pan out, but he showed promise as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers last season.
“Our football team has been and will continue to be excited about Sam Darnold and what he’s been able to bring,” O’Connell said. “Great two days of work for him this week before we continue on with our preparations for the opener. And I can’t wait to see Sam not only these next two days, but continue to stack some really, really good days and showing ultra comfort in our offense. [He has] really been a bright spot to go along with what J.J. McCarthy had done early on in camp as well.”
Darnold could fill a more hopeful narrative in Vikings history this season as the latest quarterback to successfully step in for an injured starter or potential starter in this case. Randall Cunningham stepped in for an injured Brad Johnson and led the 1998 Vikings to the NFC Championship Game. Case Keenum stepped amid Sam Bradford’s persistent knee injury issues in 2017 and guided the Vikings to another NFC title game.
Whether or not Darnold can reach his NFL potential, McCarthy will learn from the sideline with a shot to build on a 2024 season that already didn’t go as planned. O’Connell said he’s been in contact with McCarthy since the news of the surgery.
“He’s just been of the mindset that this is just a temporary thing—regardless of what news he woke up to, as far as what they did to make sure he was healthy moving forward,” O’Connell said. “He’s just excited to get back in the quarterback room, get back around the guys. And, really, outside of the physical reps, there’s just so many ways that now that the physical side and the path to physically playing the position the way we want is clearly there, it’s now the [need to] really stress mentally above the neck where, how many ways and different sequences and different environments can we put him in that we can get as close to those reps as possible so that he has a seamless transition when that time is right.”
