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Minnesota Vikings JJ McCarthy Plan Revealed
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- Minnesota Vikings JJ McCarthy Plan Revealed
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
This season the Minnesota Vikings will have another new quarterback under center. Sam Darnold can thank Kevin O'Connell for the payday he received from the Seattle Seahawks . Kirk Cousins will be the league's most expensive backup in Atlanta . J.J. McCarthy is set to take the reigns with no restrictions.
After suffering a season-ending knee injury during a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders last season, McCarthy essentially redshirted his rookie year. He's now sitting comfortably atop the depth chart, and that comes with some caveats in the preseason.
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Minnesota opens their exhibition slate against the Houston Texans on August 9th . We now know what the plan for the former Michigan product looks like.
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The preseason used to be more predictable in terms of when starters would play given the four-game length. Now with three games teams treat the outline differently. NFL Draft Analyst Thor Nystrom has confirmed that the MN Vikings will use JJ McCarthy in game one of the exhibition schedule.
I can confirm something that the Vikings have strongly hinted at — JJ McCarthy will play in the first preseason game (vs HOU/Aug 9), but the plan is to sit him out in the last 2 (vs NEP/Aug 16 | at TEN/Aug 22).
— Thor Nystrom (@thorku) July 28, 2025
With McCarthy set to be under center for Week 1 of the preseason, it will immediately give him a chance to see game action again. He has been on the sidelines since the injury against the Raiders last year, and this will be a big moment for him.
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McCarthy threw 17 passes in his lone NFL game and completed 11 of them. He totaled 188 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. It was an encouraging sign for a player just starting their professional career.
J.J. McCarthy to Trishton Jackson for the 45 yard TD!
And @JJettas2 LOVES it!
📺: #LVvsMIN on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/QmEKsnabMz— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2024
It remains a mystery if JJ McCarthy would have ever unseated Darnold during the regular season, but that isn't a concern now. Minnesota looks to unleash their new signal caller out of the gate, and then keep him unscathed until the games count.
Sam Howell , Brett Rypien , and Max Brosmer will do plenty of the heavy lifting during both the New England and Tennessee preseason games. You can expect McCarthy to be plenty active for the Minnesota Vikings joint practices with the New England Patriots before their preseason matchup.
Although McCarthy does not yet have professional stats on his Football Reference page, he left college with a Big Ten leading 72.3% completion rate . As a junior he threw for 2,991 yards and 22 touchdowns with just four interceptions.
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In Minnesota, McCarthy will have arguably the greatest collection of skill position players in the league. He is one of only two quarterbacks that get to throw to a 99 Club wide receiver as well. The games that count are just around the corner, and we get to see the Vikings new quarterback very soon.
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