Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy has strung together two quality outings, both victories for his team, as the end of his second season draws to a close.
McCarthy missed all of his rookie year with a knee injury. He has sat out six games in 2025 due to a high-ankle sprain that cost him five contests and a concussion that robbed him of another. So while the former No. 10 pick is just three weeks away from the end of his second NFL campaign, he has less than a half-season of starting experience under his belt.
That is an important fact to remember for anyone judging how McCarthy has progressed/is progressing as a 22-year-old signal-caller, and his last two outings are particularly encouraging given the context of his career and the obstacles to development that have defined much of it.
McCarthy made an Instagram post following his performance on “Sunday Night Football” in a win over the Dallas Cowboys, during which the QB completed 15-of-24 passes for 250 yards, two scores and one INT, while also adding a rushing TD. The final photograph in a series of them was as much a message to McCarthy’s doubters as it was a reminder to himself of where he is and where he hopes to go.
“You are not behind,” the message said. “You are on your own timeline.”
JJ McCarthy Getting Up to Speed Over Past 2 Games
GettyQuarterback JJ McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
While reasonable critics could have disagreed with that assessment in its most literal interpretation up until a couple weeks ago, it is impossible for anyone to deny that McCarthy appears to be quickly catching up.
He completed 16-of-23 passes for 163 yards and three TDs, as well as ran for 19 yards, in a blowout victory over the Washington Commanders in Week 14.
McCarthy is now 4-4 as the Vikings’ starter. He has completed just under 57 percent of his passes for 1,342 yards, 11 TDs and 11 INTs. The QB has also rushed the football 33 times for 154 yards (4.7 yards per carry) and three scores.
Minnesota Has Longterm Incentive to Play JJ McCarthy, Win Down Stretch of Season
GettyMinnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy.
Minnesota (6-8) is officially out of the playoff picture following the league-wide results of Week 15. However, the team still has plenty to play for, which is doubly true for the quarterback.
Even if McCarthy remains healthy for the rest of the campaign, he will not have a full regular season worth of starts on his resumé heading into 2026.
McCarthy still has two years remaining on his rookie contract, so he isn’t going anywhere. However, he may see the Vikings import more fervent competition into the QB room before training camp next summer.
Losing the next three games would be best for Minnesota’s draft positioning. But more important than that is the team gathering as much data on McCarthy as possible so as to inform its decisions under center in 2026.
If he can continue building chemistry with his pass-catchers, taking a greater command of the offense earlier in contests and improve his processing so the game keeps slowing down around him, the Vikings can feel considerably better about bringing in a veteran QB as an insurance policy behind McCarthy.
The other option is going after a free agent, or pursuing a trade for a player, who is a viable challenger for the starting role. Minnesota can potentially get the best of both worlds by acquiring a quarterback who fits both bills, though that would require the threading of a needle given what the QB market is shaping up to look like come next March.
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