The Minnesota Vikings still aren’t revealing whether J.J. McCarthy will be cleared in time for their Week 13 game against the Seattle Seahawks. The second-year quarterback is still working through concussion protocol, leaving his status uncertain.
Signs are not promising, though. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported on November 26 that McCarthy is not likely to suit up after being placed in the protocol.
While the focus this week is on McCarthy’s health, the NFL national media isn’t stopping there, discussing the player’s future as a quarterback for the Vikings. On the November 26 edition of “The Rich Eisen Show,” former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner shared his thoughts on McCarthy after watching the film on the young quarterback.
“I think the first thing is that sometimes you run into what I call natural throwers: the kind of players who can just pick up a football and let it fly. Guys like Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes fit that mold,” Warner said. “Then there are others who aren’t naturally gifted in that way; they’ve put in the work and become effective, but it doesn’t come as effortlessly.
“That’s where I think J.J. falls. I don’t see him as a natural, more fluid thrower. Because of that, you notice quite a few accuracy issues in his passes. At Michigan, everything came out as a fastball, and it was hit or miss. That’s an area he still needs to develop. He’s got to get better at.”
Kurt Warner Talks Mental Aspect of QB for J.J. McCarthy
After discussing the physical aspects of McCarthy’s game, Warner touched on the mental side of the position, including decision-making. The former Arizona Cardinals signal caller noted that this a significant area of concern for him regarding the Vikings youngster.
“What I’m seeing a lot of times on tape is I believe J.J.’s hanging on routes way too long,” Warner added. “By the time he gets back to these other routes, he can’t see it. He doesn’t have time to verify it, or he’s late on those particular routes.
“And so my question becomes: is J.J. slow at processing things? Is he taking too long to see and determine whether he wants No. 1 or No. 2 before he gets to No. 3? Or is the system dictating him—you have to see one, see if one comes open, hang here until it gets to the top of the route before you can move on to the next one? And is that causing him to go through things slowly?”
Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy Yet to Be Ruled Out
As for this week against the Seahawks, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell isn’t ruling out McCarthy just yet after speaking with the media on November 26.
“He’s cleared enough of the protocol to at least participate in a limited capacity [on November 26]; that’s part of the next phases of it,” O’Connell told reporters. “He’s in the protocol, and as that goes and as the medical process plays out, I think as far as the zero hour, I don’t necessarily know if we’re looking at it like that. But you do want to take into account what his preparation been like, what has the practice week been like with what he’s able to do, while also knowing that ultimately this is not talking about a hand or an ankle or anything like that.
“We’re talking about his head, and it’s obviously something that, as a former player and just thinking about it from that context, we want to, for sure, make sure we defer to the medical team, but then also what we feel is best. We’re still not in place to declare anything yet, just listening to where it’s at right now and where it could get to. But we’re obviously going to be smart, both for what’s best for our team and what’s best, most importantly, for J.J.”
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