Pressure is on JJ McCarthy to Perform Starting Next Week

Last season, the Minnesota Vikings ripped off 14 wins on the arm of former No. 3 overall pick and certified bust Sam Darnold, who was fresh out Kevin O’Connell’s QB rehabilitation program. Despite their first round playoff exit, KOC won his first Coach of the Year award; Darnold took home Comeback Player of the Year.

In the months that have passed since the Vikings’ season ended, Sam Darnold signed with the Seattle Seahawks and JJ McCarthy appears to be the heir apparent, starting in 2025.

O’Connell seems ready to hand the reins of his offense over to his 2024 No. 10 overall pick. Most of the starter-capable free agent quarterbacks have already signed elsewhere, and at least for now — with the first day of their nine-week offseason program starting April 21 — the only other QB currently on roster is Brett Rypien.

Almost time for JJ McCarthy to prove he’s ready

But there’s one thing holding the Minnesota Vikings back from crowning their future QB1 as their present QB1. They haven’t seen him take the field and and perform football activities yet with his teammates, since undergoing season-ending meniscus surgery last August.

Thus, their patience on the QB market this offseason comes with plenty of risk. Sure, McCarthy might look the part. He’s worked hard to get back and he’s a great kid with tremendous talent. But until the bodies start flying around — at least a little bit — they cannot know for sure what they have in JJ McCarthy.

They, of course, don’t know, and won’t know [if McCarthy is ready], until they get out on the practice field in May, how everything McCarthy’s gone through will affect the on-field part of it.

Robbed of having a cleaner view of all that by the quarterback’s injury, they still do have to do some of the projecting they would have had to do back in August, had McCarthy stayed in the lineup and kept pushing Darnold. 

Albert Breer – Sports Illustrated

Lingering uncertainty surrounding McCarthy is probably why, based on what’s been reported, Aaron Rodgers still won’t commit to the Steelers. Because, until Vikings coaches see McCarthy work out with their own eyes, they are not comfortable fully closing the door on other QB options, including Rodgers.

Pressure is on for early Minnesota Vikings offseason workouts

The tests begin next week, when the first are set to host their first offseason workouts of 2025. And with most other competent QB options already off the market, the clock is ticking. Thus, wherever JJ goes for the next month; anything he does, every throw he makes… all eyes will be on him.

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That means, while other Minnesota Vikings players arrive in Eagan to casually touch base with teammates and passively go through the motions, pressure will already be mounting for JJ McCarthy. How he handles that will begin to push KOC and Kwesi one way or another on what kind of veteran QB they need to add to the roster.

“We won’t know until we get out on the grass with him,” O’Connell says. “But my expectation is he’s going to have a great spring and we’re going to feel really good about him going into training camp.”

Given the team the Vikings have, there’s a lot riding on things playing out that way. If it doesn’t, well, the Vikings will address that later on. For now, though, they see all the pieces, in McCarthy himself and what’s around him. And we’ll know soon enough whether they come together as planned.

Sports Illustrated

In JJ McCarthy’s only preseason game last year, the University of Michigan National Champion went 11-of-17 for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Two days later, he needed surgery on his knee. At this point, McCarthy is closing in on a year of recovery.

Every JJ McCarthy completion vs The Raiders pic.twitter.com/DRpfTHS3QK

— 𝙆𝙖𝙨𝙚 (@verysadvikings) April 10, 2025

JJ played played 40 games in his three years at Michigan, compiling a Big Ten-best 72.3% completion percentage during his junior season and a 49/11 TD/INT ratio over the course of his college career. There has never been any doubt about the level of belief O’Connell has in McCarthy, but now it’s time for the 22-year-old to prove him right.