Vikings News: JJ McCarthy Return Timeline and Travel Plans Revealed

By    |  
Updated:
Follow Us
J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings will take the field on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, with Carson Wentz under center, instead of JJ McCarthy, who is expected to miss two to four weeks with a high ankle sprain he suffered in week two against the Atlanta Falcons.

But there was an additional complication with McCarthy’s injury. The MN Vikings are scheduled to play overseas in weeks 4 and 5. In a vacuum, the Vikings would like McCarthy to stay back and use the unlimited resources allowed to him at TCO Performance Center to aid in his recovery.

Not only that, but there have been additional concerns raised surrounding possible swelling issues in JJ’s ankle, if he takes the near eight hour flight to Ireland. This world is not a vacuum, however, and there are a lot of team-building elements to a trip like this, that the Vikings certainly do not want their QB of the future to miss.

JJ McCarthy to travel overseas with Minnesota Vikings

Thus, after the Vikings’ game against the Bengals, JJ McCarthy will prepare along with the rest of his teammates to board a plane bound for Dublin later this week, according to Adam Schefter (ESPN), then London for week 5 vs the Browns.

While seven-and-a-half hours is not the greatest option for someone dealing with an injury, the Minnesota Vikings do not fly in passenger jets like most of us. I have no doubt the Vikings medical staff make sure McCarthy takes all precautionary steps (literally), to avoid any further damage to his ankle.

The immediate future for Minnesota is an opportunity for Carson Wentz. The 33-year-old has played in 98 games and drawn 94 starts during his 10-year career. He hasn’t gotten significant run since 2021, and strong performance could turn that tide.

When today’s contest week three contest, it was still possible that JJ could play in week 5, which made sense since he will now be traveling with the team overseas. Unfortunately, that dream didn’t last long.

McCarthy Out until at least week 7

In the first quarter on Sunday vs the Cincinnati Bengals, Tracy Wolfson (CBS) reporting live that the Vikings have already ruled out their redshirt rookie QB until they return stateside, which means we will not see him until after the week 6 bye, at the earliest.

“I got a chance to speak with Kevin O’Connell who said the plan for JJ McCarthy is to make the trip to Europe and continue to rehab there, and then they have the bye and he will hopefully play week 7. Now, I spoke with JJ before the game and he told me the ankle feels great…he’s hoping to return to practice sooner than later. But he also knows that this is a marathon and not a sprint, and they need to be smart.”

Tracy Wolfson – CBS

On Sunday against the Bengals, Minnesota got Harrison Smith and Andrew Van Ginkel back on defense, plus Christian Darrisaw on offense. The presence of all three was felt by the Vikings’ immediately too, as they jumped out to a 31-point first half lead against the Bengals, thanks to multiple touchdowns on both sides of the ball.

Minnesota built in the trenches to give their new quarterback a chance. They are currently working with another new quarterback in Wentz, but the line being healthy is the most straightforward way for any of them to succeed. That was proven in the first half on Sunday afternoon.

Mentioned in this article:

More About:

0What do you think?Post a comment.