The Minnesota Vikings will hold second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy out of the starting lineup for the fifth consecutive game when the team takes on the Los Angeles Chargers on “Thursday Night Football,” and one prominent sports doctor is calling foul on the play.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced on Tuesday that Carson Wentz will start, undrafted rookie Max Brosmer will be the QB2 and McCarthy will again serve as the third-string/emergency quarterback.
On Wednesday, Dr. David J. Chao of Sirius XM and Fox Sports Radio asserted that O’Connell’s decision is a clear indication that Minnesota brass is choosing to sit McCarthy, even though he is healthy enough to play.
“Proof positive that [McCarthy] is healthy enough to play. Not saying he is 100%, but no way [O’Connell] would make him emergency QB for 2nd straight week otherwise,” Chao posted to X. “All I am saying is [Patrick Mahomes] won a [Super Bowl] playing thru high ankle sprain, and right now JJ is not [Mahomes], which makes this a ‘coaching decision.’”
J.J. McCarthy Has Been Out Long Time Considering Relative Seriousness of Ankle Injury
GettyQuarterback J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
McCarthy injured his ankle against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, during a game played on September 14. Thus, when the Vikings take the field on Thursday night, the 22-year-old quarterback will be nearly six weeks removed from the ankle sprain.
It isn’t completely unheard of that teams will hold out players with severe ankle sprains for several weeks, but a full seven weeks will have passed before Minnesota plays the Detroit Lions on ten days rest following its Thursday night matchup with the Chargers on October 23.
Many players who suffer moderate-to-severe hamstring strains, or even broken bones, can typically return in that amount of time, or something close to it, which is potentially cause for the raising of a few eyebrows with regards to the Vikings’ QB situation.
Wentz is 2-2 over his four starts this season, throwing for 1,072 yards on a 67 percent completion rate for five TDs and four INTs. He is also battling an injury to his non-throwing (left) shoulder. Meanwhile, McCarthy is 1-1 and has thrown for 301 yards, two TDs and three INTS on 58.5 percent passing this year.
Vikings Potential Trade Partners for Falcons QB Kirk Cousins
GettyAtlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.
If the Vikings could be starting McCarthy and aren’t, that raises serious questions about his future as the team’s franchise quarterback.
Multiple entities have already floated the possibility that Minnesota might explore a trade for Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons in the coming weeks, ahead of the league’s November 4 deadline to execute such transactions.
Doing so would essentially be the Vikings admitting that they made two serious mistakes by letting Sam Darnold leave for the Seattle Seahawks (5-2) and Daniel Jones depart for the Indianapolis Colts (6-1) in free agency.
Perhaps O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah are loathe to do so at this point, as it could impact McCarthy’s confidence moving forward. However, if McCarthy knows he can play now and the team isn’t letting him, those circumstances may already be producing a negative impact on McCarthy’s psyche.
How the Vikings handle the next couple of weeks before the trade deadline will be telling, particularly if Wentz struggles or suffers further injury against the Chargers or Lions. If Brosmer starts over McCarthy and/or if Minnesota decides to trade for a veteran QB like Cousins, things could be much worse for McCarthy than they currently appear.
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