Vikings Reveal J.J. McCarthy Would Have Sat His Rookie Year
Vikings Reveal J.J. McCarthy Would Have Sat His Rookie Year originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
J.J. McCarthy's readiness for his first season as a starter remains the biggest question facing the Minnesota Vikings this upcoming season.
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Local beat reporters have found that McCarthy has picked up right where he left off last summer before suffering a season-ending meniscus injury in the first preseason game of the year.
While McCarthy flashed promise in that game, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah gave an honest admission about how he projected McCarthy's rookie year would go.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) at Vikings training campJeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Appearing on the Minnesota Star Tribune's "Access Vikings" podcast on June 5, Adofo-Mensah admitted that McCarthy would have sat last year even if he was healthy.
"We have just constant dialogue and conversations about what we wanted for J.J. that year, and he started exceeding [expectations] pretty quickly," Adofo-Mensah said. "We were pretty clear publicly that we didn't want him to play, not because he wouldn't know how he would play, but we just thought, for the better success of his career, it's better to sit and watch. He was pushing a little bit in terms of maybe even becoming the backup or different things like that, but just the day-over-day growth that he would show he's so coachable."
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The Vikings signed Sam Darnold to a $10 million contract for a reason last season. And while the intention was that McCarthy would sit behind Darnold, there's no telling what may have happened if Darnold struggled and McCarthy were healthy -- especially with Adofo-Mensah indicating that he was showing signs of his capability early.
In his first preseason game, McCarthy completed 11 of 17 passes (65.7%) for 188 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception for a 116.8 passer rating.
Despite being picked off by Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Jack Jones on his third throw of the game, McCarthy bounced back, hitting Trishton Jackson for a 20-plus-yard gain on the same corner-route concept later in the game.
Adofo-Mensah said that McCarthy leaning into the adversity and not being demoralized by the early interception was the most encouraging sign from the young quarterback that he'll carry into the upcoming season.
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"It's the preseason, so you don't want to read too much into it, but if people remember the Raiders played their first-team defense for a while, he was in the game," Adofo-Mensah said. "We just loved it, and not only just the play, but how he played, I mean, through the interception, when you talk to the coaches, there was just a positivity and a joy that he played with that. He was gonna come back, and he had that great recovery. Those are moments that matter. ... He came over the sideline, got his coaching point, took it and then went out there and played with his teammates."
Related: Vikings Fans React to 'Concerning' J.J. McCarthy News
Related: Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Dealt Josh Allen Comparison by Former Bills Teammate
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
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