The injury news for Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy was bad on Wednesday.
McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft after winning the national championship at Michigan, was out for the season after having meniscus surgery, the team announced.
Sam Darnold is now fully entrenched as the Vikings starting quarterback.
After spending two years in Carolina, he backed up Brock Birdy last season in San Francisco and spent his first three NFL seasons with the Jets, the third overall pick in the 2018 draft. He signed a one-year, $10 million contract with Minnesota.
Darnold’s teams have gone 21-35 in games he’s started, but he has some hope this year now that he’s coached by Kevin O’Connell, a highly regarded offensive mind.
The Vikings face the Giants in the MetLife season opener on Sept. 8.
It will mark Darnold’s second start at his old home since being waived by the Jets.
He became the Panthers’ starter against the Giants on October 24, 2021, when he went 16-of-25 for 112 yards with touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked three times in a 25-3 Carolina loss.
The Vikings have a date with the Jets in London on October 6.
O’Connell enters his third season as coach of the Vikings after serving as offensive coordinator under Sean McVay with the Rams for a two-year run that included a Super Bowl LVI championship in the 2021 season.
O’Connell delivered the news shortly after the team arrived for two days of joint practice with the Browns.
“He confirmed a lot of things that not only I, but a lot of people and JJ needed to confirm,” O’Connell told the AP. “He’s done that. Now he just has to work through this process so that when his time comes, he’s healthy and he takes control of this thing.
McCarthy went 11-of-17 for 188 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in Minnesota’s preseason opener against the Raiders on Saturday.
He informed the team about the knee pain after the game. The tear was later confirmed by imaging tests, with severity revealed during surgery.
“I’m just crushing on JJ,” O’Connell said.
Nick Mullens will move into the primary backup role, and Jaron Hall, who started five games for the Vikings last season, remains on the team’s roster.
According to FanDuel’s latest odds, the Vikings over/under win total is 7.5 over +134 and the under juice is -168.
