Minnesota Vikings‘ J.J. McCarthy has dealt with injuries early in his career, which saw him miss his rookie season and has now impacted his second year. Nonetheless, being on the sidelines over the last few weeks due to his latest injury, McCarthy is making the most of the situation.
With veteran quarterback Carson Wentz under center, McCarthy has decided to take a step back and learn. Although getting that hands-on experience is easier, there’s nothing wrong with learning while someone else does the job.
On October 15, McCarthy spoke with reporters, revealing what he’s learn from seeing Wentz be the starting quarterback.
“I would say, you can tell by his experience with the anticipation in the windows, with the quickness of when the ball’s getting out of his hand,” McCarthy said. “Just little things that he does pre-snap that he’s been kind of telling me about.
“We’re reading certain plays, seeing different leverages from certain secondary defenders, and just the timing of everything is something that I’ve been really impressed with and took a lot from.”
When Will J.J. McCarthy Return as Vikings Starter?
It’s evident that McCarthy is putting in extra work while rehabbing the high ankle sprain he suffered in Week 2. O’Connell confirmed that Carson Wentz and McCarthy “will get reps” this week. Still, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell isn’t willing to commit to one quarterback just yet heading into Week 7.
“I think the big thing is just getting him back on the grass in uniform practicing,” O’Connell said (h/t Pro Football Talk). “Getting real live reps of a pass rush and, you know, taking drops and applying some of the things that he’s worked really hard on as of late as he’s kind of gotten to that phase of his rehab, applying it, and then when he does that, you know, instant dialogue about what he’s able to do and what it felt like and, ‘Hey, let’s log that away.‘ And then if he doesn’t, the same thing.
“It’s, you know, it’s going to be — I’m having a blast kind of coaching him. It started kind of last week when he was able to really start ramping up a little bit as he gets there and, you know, that one-on-one work, and then obviously the work he does with [quarterbacks coach] Josh [McCown] and [assistant quarterbacks coach] Jordan [Traylor] is going to be critical.”
J.J. McCarthy Talks Returning as Vikings Starting QB
As McCarthy approaches his return, the big question is when the Vikings will give him back the starting job. Whether he’s holding back or genuinely unsure, McCarthy dodged the question when asked about when he’ll be back under center heading into the Week 7 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I really don’t know,” McCarthy added. “At the end of the day, I don’t know what I’m having for dinner tonight. So, I just try to stay moment by moment, but I trust that they’re going to do the best thing possible for this team and for the longevity of my career.”
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