The Minnesota Vikings are in a tough spot quarterback-wise just as they’re about to hit the NFL offseason. J.J. McCarthy is preparing to come back from a high right ankle sprain. Drafted as the No. 10 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, McCarthy has struggled as the new kid on the block. He’s taken only 122 regular-season snaps and attempted 49 NFL passes so far. Second, he’s had very little exposure to the game. His torn right meniscus sidelined him for the entire last season, further complicating questions about his development and readiness as a starter.
An injury to McCarthy has kept him out for most of his career. Since being drafted, he’s missed 23 of the 25 possible games. The Vikings are hopeful that he’ll be able to go as their starting QB again when they host the Detroit Lions this Sunday. McCarthy will enter this major matchup with a QBR of only 20.3 through his first two starts of the 2025 campaign. This statistic paints a clear picture of how much he’s struggled to adapt to the NFL’s breakneck pace.
In trying to determine the future of coach Kellen McCarthy, the Vikings know how crucial this stretch could be. The team has ten games remaining to evaluate whether McCarthy can establish himself as their unquestioned starter heading into the 2026 season. This sense of urgency is heightened by the reality that McCarthy will have to show real progress in a short time frame.
Weirdly, the consensus among that Vikings coaching staff is that McCarthy failed to take McCarthy’s game development to the next level. His ankle injury affected his ability to move around the stage. He even had trouble planting on his right foot. This hindered his ability to consistently escape the pocket, a key to a quarterback’s success in the NFL today. Head Coach Kevin O’Connell empathized with what McCarthy and rookie backup Brosmer have been dealing with. He emphasized why it might be unfair to put a rookie on the spot in such a high stakes situation.
“and he understands some of our circumstances [Thursday night]. I think it’s very difficult to ask [Brosmer] to go in there for his first performance and have to be weathering it a little bit for the group.” – Kevin O’Connell
McCarthy’s last few performances will be telling for the Vikings. More than anything, they need to get some certainty about their quarterback of the future. With each game, he gets another chance to take the reins and show off his development and talent as the head of the franchise. The stakes have never been higher for him or the franchise itself. They need to find their way through these pivotal weeks with an acute sense of what long-term success looks like.
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