Things certainly didn't go according to plan for J.J. McCarthy during his rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings. Thanks to suffering a knee injury in his first NFL preseason game, McCarthy was forced to spend the entire 2024 campaign watching the Vikings from the sidelines.
But the young quarterback is reportedly ahead of schedule with his recovery, and during an interview on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Tuesday, he sounds like he's ready for whatever lies ahead for him in his second year with Minnesota.
"I really just have to focus on controlling what I can control. My feelings don't matter. I'm not getting any grace. There's no sympathy. This is the big leagues.
Just being able to approach it with a steadfast, narrow tunnel vision on the task at hand, which is that workout that day, that film study, that extra little thing I'm going to do for my fiancé that day, and really just staying in the moment because that gives me the most peace of mind through all this."
Maturity of Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy is off the charts
It's easy to forget that McCarthy is still only 22-years-old. The Vikings quarterback already sounds like he's been in the NFL for 10 years, and his cool and calm demeanor is something that is going to help him whenever he finally gets on the field for Minnesota.
Missing an entire rookie season is something that can derail the careers of a lot of young players in the NFL. But with McCarthy, it sounds like he's made the most of his time during the last few months, and he's still on the right track to take over as the Vikings starting quarterback for next season if that's the direction the team wants to take.
Despite not getting any on-field reps in practice this season, Minnesota should still feel incredibly confident about McCarthy's future with the franchise based on how he has attacked his recovery process and how he still found ways to improve as a quarterback in the meeting room and on the sideline.