Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss 2024 season with knee injury

Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing knee surgery, the team announced Wednesday.

McCarthy tore the meniscus in his right knee during the Vikings’ preseason opener on Saturday, a 24-23 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. McCarthy played 30 snaps and threw a touchdown on his final play of the game.

On Tuesday, Minnesota coach Kevin O’Connell said doctors would determine during surgery whether McCarthy needed a meniscus trim — which would have allowed him to return this season — or a full repair. The surgery revealed McCarthy needed the full repair, sidelining him until 2025.

McCarthy, 21, was the 10th overall pick in April’s NFL draft. He spent three years at Michigan, where he went 27-1 and led the Wolverines to a national championship last season.

Minnesota drafted McCarthy after moving on from Kirk Cousins, who was not re-signed by the Vikings this offseason after spending six years with the team. McCarthy was the first QB that Minnesota had selected in the first round since Teddy Bridgewater in 2014.

Sam Darnold, the former No. 3 overall pick from the 2018 draft, is expected to be the Vikings’ starter in McCarthy’s absence.

“Sam’s had a really good camp and my confidence level in Sam is very, very high at this point,” O’Connell said earlier this week. “I’m really looking forward to Sam’s continued growth and success in the offense, and I know his teammates and the rest of the coaching staff have been really enthused by what Sam’s done.”