Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss the entire 2024 NFL season due to his torn meniscus. McCarthy underwent a full meniscus repair on Wednesday morning, which will give him the best chance at a long, successful career, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The decision to go with that surgery, though, will keep him out until the 2025 season.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter added that a Vikings official said the team “strongly believe (McCarthy) will come back better and have a long, successful NFL career.” It will just have to wait another year.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 10: J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings on the field during a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 10, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. McCarthy is out for the season.
Ric Tapia/Getty Images
The Vikings selected McCarthy with the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft. He was expected to compete with veteran Sam Darnold to be the team’s starting quarterback, but Darnold entered camp with the edge in the race.
While it was becoming increasingly clearer that Darnold was going to be the starter come Week 1, McCarthy was expected to get the opportunity to compete and potentially take that spot later this season. Now, his 2024 rookie season is over before it ever began.
McCarthy suffered the injury during the Vikings’ first preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. McCarthy completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the game.
McCarthy reported ongoing soreness on Monday and was held out of practice. On Tuesday, the team discovered he had a torn meniscus. It wasn’t clear what type of surgery the team would pursue, though. The exact surgery would determine how long McCarthy would be out.
Read more: Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy to Undergo Knee Surgery, Return Undetermined
“We felt strongly about where he was at in his development process, so really you hurt for him just in the short term here because he had such a daily process, focus, all those things that I was really looking for in a young player at the position,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Tuesday. “I think all of us will be staying optimistic that it hopefully is the shorter term.”
In the end, it wasn’t the shorter term, as McCarthy will now be sidelined for the entire 2024 season. Darnold will now have the keys for the entire 2024 season, where he’ll hope to finally reach his potential at the NFL level.
Darnold was selected with the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons with the New York Jets, two with the Carolina Panthers, and one with the San Francisco 49ers as the backup to Brock Purdy. In 66 career games, he’s thrown for 12,064 yards with 63 touchdowns and 56 interceptions. His record as a starter is 21-35.
“Sam’s had a really good camp, and my confidence level in Sam is very, very high at this point,” O’Connell said on Tuesday. “I’m looking forward to seeing him continue his progression.”
Vikings Depth Chart
Sam Darnold is the starting quarterback on the Vikings’ unofficial depth chart. Veteran Nick Mullens is currently listed as the No. 3 quarterback, while second-year quarterback Jaren Hall is listed as the No. 4 quarterback. Mullens and Hall will now compete to take over McCarthy’s spot as the backup to Darnold.
