Recently Cleared JJ McCarthy Claps Back at Arm Strength Criticism

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JJ McCarthy - Minnesota Vikings minicamp
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings are working through their last day of 2025 mandatory minicamp on Thursday. Next week, from June 16-18, they’ll hold one more voluntary OTA session, then take a month or so off before reconvening in Eagan for training camp in late July.

So this afternoon, after hearing from some of the assistant coaches and secondary star players on Wednesday, all of the most popular interview requests showed up to the podium, including Kevin O’Connell, Justin Jefferson and JJ McCarthy.

JJ McCarthy fully cleared by Minnesota Vikings medical staff

McCarthy started off his presser by confirming that, on day one of minicamp Tuesday, Minnesota Vikings doctors and trainers declared him 100% healthy and fully-cleared him for any and all football activities, going forward.

That’s huge news for a team and fanbase that, not so long ago, was concerned about whether or not he would be ready for training camp.

For the most part this spring, the chatter surrounding McCarthy’s recovery and restarted development has been positive. Just 4-5 months ago, after JJ showed up on the Minnesota Vikings sideline late in the 2024 season looking skinnier than Kyle (DJ Qualls) from Road Trip, that was definitely not the case.

But a couple months after Vikings Twitter went into a panic over how JJ McCarthy would put weight back on in time for the start of offseason programs, he showed up at an NFL golf event and put those worries to bed.

Ever since then, anyone who have been around McCarthy or have watched him participate in-person this offseason have not relayed a single negative thing about the 22-year-old redshirt rookie that local reporters like Darren Wolfson (SKOR North) have been able to write/talk about and receive all sorts of engagement from. It just doesn’t exist.

“I’ve not heard one bad thing about J.J McCarthy. You think about him leading IMG Academy to a national championship in high school, helping Michigan win a national championship in college. The two, like it’s not a coincidence, put it that way. There is something about JJ McCarthy, however you want to define ‘It Factor’, JJ has it.”

Darren Wolfson – SKOR North

Of course, the same cannot be said for McCarthy, when it comes to some of the national talking heads watching the MN Vikings offseason from afar. Like Colin Cowherd (FOX Sorts), who apparently have different sources telling them a much more clouded story on McCarthy.

On his show “The Herd” Wednesday, Cowherd took aim at the Minnesota Vikings franchise quarterback (yet again), telling his viewers that “scouts he trusts” have relayed to him that JJ has ZERO special QB traits and on “moderate arm talent”. You can read more about Colin’s latest McCarthy rant HERE.

MN Vikings QB responds to criticism regarding his arm strength

Naturally, when he talked to reporters today, JJ McCarthy was asked about his arm strength and why there is a misconception out there that he only has a “moderate” arm, a supposed weakness that the man asking him the question (Judd Zulgad – SKOR North) admitted he has not during the five McCarthy practices he has watched this offseason.

McCarthy laughed and told those gathered that he thinks the “stigma” comes from the fact that he played at Michigan, where they didn’t throw the ball as much. JJ then went on to mention his smaller frame.

Judd: “When you go back and look at your scouting reports from credible sources that you didn’t have arm strength or that it was only ‘ok’, where do you think that started or how surprised were you? After watching you for five practices there might be some [weaknesses] I see, but it ain’t arm strength.”

McCarthy: “I would say a lot of it comes with the stigma of playing at Michigan and not throwing the ball a lot. At the same time, it could be my frame. They don’t see the 6’5″, 240 lb guy so how can he throw [the football] 60 MPH at the combine but at the end of the day, it’s going to show up and the people that know, know. But yeah, I think the situations that I’ve been in and I don’t pass the eye test for some people.”

JJ McCarthy press conference – Day 3 of Mandatory Minicamp (2025)

But really — and you can be the judge for yourself after watching the video above — I’m convinced that the 6’1, 220 pound “undersized” McCarthy only used his supposed lack of size so that he could casually remind us that he threw 61 MPH at the 2024 combine.

How fast is that? Well, it was good enough for second-hardest at the 2024 combine, behind only Joe Milton III’s 62 MPH football fastball, a rocket that tied Josh Allen for the hardest throw an any combine, ever. The best part about JJ’s sick brag was that he weaved it in so casually that it actually undersold the significance.

Like a lawyer tossing out his case-breaking evidence so nonchalantly that the courtroom is left wondering if they actually heard correctly. McCarthy then closed his answer to Judd’s question perfectly by reminding him, “the people that know, know”.

Those who have followed Minnesota Sports Fan for years (I appreciate you), you know in my deep belief in a superstar needing some sort of “it” factor. They don’t have to be Tom Brady, Brett Favre or Kobe Bryant, but your best player can’t be Karl-Anthony Towns or Russell Wilson either.

Confirmed: JJ McCarthy is a real one

Most humans can smell someone who is faking it or pretending to be something they are not from a million miles away. To this day, we still aren’t sure who KAT is or how how he really talks, naturally. In fact, I’m not really sure he does.

Then, to stick with the local basketball analogies, someone like Anthony Edwards walks through the door, who is so real and so much himself that it actually costs him hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines every season because he just can’t turn off his “real” switch, even with a microphone in his face.

Without a doubt, I have already been convinced that — no matter what kind of quarterback JJ McCarthy becomes — he absolutely has the “it” factor necessary to lead an NFL football team. And believe it or not, that is a big test for young QBs expected to come into the league and make a difference for their new team.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Officially Promote Two Top Executives

Yes, JJ is a nice, polite kid. That will earn him some brownie points with media and fans. But in the locker room, none of that matters. What matters is that you are respectful to your teammates and that you are 100% authentically yourself, something that does not come naturally for everyone, but does for JJ McCarthy.

Because anyone who has ever been a part of a team — whether it be on the football field, basketball court, theater show, school classroom or business office — knows the difference between a leader who is faking it and one who you would run through a brick wall for. And no doubt, JJ McCarthy is the latter, something his teammates long ago picked up on.

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