Vikings Prepared to Sign New QB After J.J. McCarthy Injury

Getty Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy during warmups of a 2024 preseason game against the Raiders.

The show must go on for the Minnesota Vikings who will be without J.J. McCarthy for likely the remainder of the preseason due to a meniscus injury that will require surgery.

While his future in Minnesota is still bright after he showed his potential in a 24-23 preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders on August 10, the Vikings are considering signing another quarterback to get the team through the rest of training camp.

“We’re going to take a look at it,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said on signing another quarterback following the announcement of McCarthy’s surgery on August 13. “We’ll obviously have Sam [Darnold], Nick [Mullens] and Jaren [Hall] ready to roll and, as we move forward on the plans for either practice or the preseason games, that may be something we need to do.”

Having enough arms during training camp is vital for evaluating receivers and defensive backs — both position groups which are hotly contested this summer.

But whether the Vikings will look to sign a quarterback to compete for a backup role entering the regular season depends on the severity of McCarthy’s injury.

The Vikings will not know that until McCarthy undergoes the operation.

Timeline for Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy’s Return From Meniscus Injury

GettyJ.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings.

In his August 13 news conference, O’Connell addressed that McCarthy’s timeline will be unclear until they open up his knee and see the condition of his meniscus.

“It has been determined that J.J. does have a tear in his meniscus, in his right knee. He will need to undergo a procedure, obviously that will hopefully take place in the near future here,” O’Connell said, per Vikings.com. “But as far as a timeline on the injury, that will be determined during the procedure, based upon whether it can just be a cleanup or potentially a repair. That won’t be able to be determined until that procedure takes place. I would just be speculating on a timeline for a return at this point.”

According to Fox Sports injury analyst Dr. Evan Jeffries, a meniscectomy would require four to six weeks of recovery, while a full meniscus repair would require four to six months of recovery.

A date has not been set for McCarthy’s surgery as of Tuesday afternoon, but if he does require a full meniscus tear, the Vikings may seek out a quarterback who can be more than just a practice arm during the summer months.

Mullens proved competent at running the Vikings offense last season, but there could be a layer of mobility added to the offense that better fits the mold of Darnold and McCarthy.

Vikings’ 2024 Season Plans Remain Unchanged

While McCarthy’s injury is unfortunate, the Vikings have planned to give Darnold the best chance to succeed for the 2024 season since they signed him to a respectable one-year, $10 million deal in March.

O’Connell praised Darnold for being ahead of his expectations at this stage of the preseason following his single drive against the Raiders. Darnold completed 4-of-8 passes for 59 yards and led a 12-play, 66-yard drive that halted on a failed fourth-down conversion on the Raiders’ 4-yard-line.

“Sam did a great job starting the game, really efficient drive down the field, tried to give him a shot there on fourth down,” O’Connell said in an August 10 postgame news conference. “Sam and J.J. are ahead of where I thought they’d be at this point. There’s a feeling and a mindset towards the position, there’s an overall belief in the development at the position that I’m way more focused on: how we allow confidence to build and ownership to build.”

McCarthy proved the hype and his first-round draft status was real in his preseason debut, but the Vikings would prefer that he sits behind Darnold to start the season and eventually take over in 2025.

His injury does not derail that timeline by any means.