The Minnesota Vikings suffered a massive blow after it was announced that rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy would miss the 2024 season due to a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Despite that crushing news, head coach Kevin O’Connell voiced optimism moving forward.
“He’s confirmed everything that I hoped to see early in training camp through his performance last Saturday,” O’Connell said via ESPN. “but our fan base and everyone should just be excited about the fact that we’ve got our young franchise quarterback, I believe, in the building. And now it’s about the unique aspect of continuing a very critical development process for him, where maybe the physical reps aren’t going to be there in the short term, but this is going to be a small bump in the road.”
The injury reportedly occurred at some point in last Saturday’s preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders, where he performed well with two touchdown passes and an interception while completing 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards along with rushing for 18 yards on two attempts.
McCarthy had been dealing with persistent soreness before the official diagnosis of the injury that he underwent surgery to repair on Wednesday.
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With McCarthy out of the mix, the Vikings’ offseason addition Sam Darnold is the clear-cut starter to begin the season. Darnold was already pegged to be the starter before McCarthy’s injury, eliminating any uncertainty about his job status.
Meanwhile, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall will now compete for the backup job.
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