Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy to miss rookie season following surgery to repair meniscus

McCarthy suffered the right meniscus tear during Minnesota’s preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday and sat out of Monday’s practice with what was initially thought to be knee soreness. Further testing revealed he’d torn his meniscus, prompting surgery.

“As crushed as I am for our team and the excitement that we had in our building and our fanbase felt the same way, especially after seeing him perform really well the other day at U.S. Bank Stadium, I’m the most crushed for J.J,” O’Connell said. “But, as our fans either have already come to find out or will in the future, this guy is so motivated and so dialed in. As excited as I was to draft him, he’s confirmed everything that I hoped to see not only early on through training camp, through his performance last Saturday, but our fanbase and everyone should just be excited about the fact that we’ve got our young franchise quarterback, I believe, in the building.”

The magnitude of the injury is unprecedented, as McCarthy will become the first quarterback drafted in the top 10 during the Super Bowl era (since 1967) to miss his entire rookie season due to an injury, according to NFL Research.

McCarthy faced a chance to return within a few weeks if his surgeon opted to trim the meniscus. Instead, they fully repaired the tendon, placing the Michigan product on a much longer recovery timeline that will sideline him for the 2024 campaign.

Minnesota selected McCarthy with the No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft in April, making him the fifth quarterback to be chosen in the first 10 picks.

“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,” O’Connell said. “Other quarterbacks in our league have gone through similar things early on in their journey and came back stronger and better than ever, and that is not only my expectation — I know that is going to happen for J.J. We will have a great plan for him not only in the quarterback room with those other guys, but a process so him and I can continue to build our rapport and make sure there’s a day-to-day football process. But early on, most importantly, it’s going to be about that rehab and the physical aspect of working his way back. I expect him to make a full recovery.”

The Vikings protected themselves by signing veteran Sam Darnold, who began training camp as the team’s top quarterback on the depth chart, but was facing increasing pressure from McCarthy after the rookie shined in his first preseason action, tossing two touchdown passes (and one interception) in the game against the Raiders.

With McCarthy sidelined, the job is now Darnold’s for 2024. He will attempt to fill the void left by Kirk Cousins, who departed Minneapolis for Atlanta in free agency.