Right after he suffered an ankle injury in the second preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy made it seem like it was not a big deal. Head coach Kevin O'Connell followed suit by saying that if he was able to go, McCarthy could start in the preseason finale against the Denver Broncos.
But it was not to be. Before the game, reports surfaced saying McCarthy would not play against the Broncos. Some of those reports suggested McCarthy was not comfortable enough to give it a go, while further confirming the injury wasn't believed to be on the serious end of things.
Speculation about how bad McCarthy's ankle injury really is easily followed. Are the Vikings trying to trade him, so they held him out? Was he not willing to play in the final preseason game, knowing his future with the team is in peril regardless of how he performed?
The conflict between McCarthy and Minnesota, as self-inflicted as it is on both sides, was only added to by his absence in the preseason finale. If the team thought he could play and wanted him to, but he was not willing to, a divorce is now 110 percent likely.
New report pushes rift between the Minnesota Vikings and J.J. McCarthy even wider
During his appearance on Monday's edition of "The Pat McAfee Show", ESPN insider Adam Schefter talked about the Vikings being among the teams that kept four quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster.
"The Vikings, look, Kyler's the starter, J.J.'s the former [QB1], I think Carson Wentz winds up being [QB2] right away.
J.J.'s got an ankle injury right now; he's got a sprained ankle that I think is a multi-week injury."
Alec Lewis of The Athletic, citing his sources, seemed to lightly contradict Schefter's report about McCarthy's ankle with a post on X.
"J.J. McCarthy's injury was described as "minor" and "day to day" by several sources Friday. But @AdamSchefter is reporting here that it is a "multi-week" injury."
This is where it's worth mentioning a reporter's sources and potential agendas.
Schefter is often a glorified PR person for agents when it comes to transactions, so his source is likely McCarthy's agent. For Lewis and other team beat reporters, they likely have sources from within the actual team.
That difference doesn't make anyone wrong, misinformed, or bad at their job; it's just worth noting.
Schefter, for what it's worth, is also a University of Michigan alum, like McCarthy.
If McCarthy is indeed dealing with a multi-week injury to his ankle, then a short-term stint on IR seems possible. The timing of such a move is important too.
If it had been done before initial roster cuts became official, he'd have to miss the entire season. Waiting until afterward keeps the option to return from IR during the season open, should that be the looming upcoming move.
The potential move to trade McCarthy remains plausible if he may only be out a few weeks (if that long). Of course, any team that trades for him is lined up to be doing so sight unseen since the second preseason game, but the door would be open.
Schefter suggesting McCarthy has a "multi-week injury" directly contradicts everything else that has been put out there. It's also the latest sign of a relationship between the team and the player that is likely over, even if it's not officially there just yet.
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