After sitting out the entire 2024 campaign with a knee injury, J.J. McCarthy will make his regular-season debut as the starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings in a primetime Week 1 matchup against the Chicago Bears next Monday.
It's difficult to predict how McCarthy will play against the Bears because of his inexperience, and during an appearance on ESPN Chicago's "Waddle & Silvy" radio show on Tuesday, longtime ESPN analyst and personality Michael Wilbon shared how he believes the Bears should be able to easily exploit that inexperience of the young Vikings quarterback next week.
"I expect them to beat the hell out the Vikings and I expect them to make a rookie quarterback look like a rookie quarterback. That's what I expect. Dennis Allen was brought in, to a lot of praise, justifiably so, as a coordinator, so beat the hell out this kid, who wasn't even that good at Michigan.
Talk about the most overstated thing is my colleagues I hear praising this rookie quarterback out of [Michigan]. He didn't do anything at Michigan that I found impressive."
ESPN legend has doubts about "rookie" Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy against the Chicago Bears in Week 1
After Wilbon said that McCarthy didn't do anything at Michigan that he was impressed by, the ESPN legend was asked, "What about winning the National Championship?"
Wilbon fired back at that question with some of the same tired narratives that we've been hearing ever since McCarthy joined Minnesota.
"[Michigan's whole team] won the National Championship. It wasn't the passing game.
...Is he bringing that [offensive] line, at the same level, with him, and that running game with him, and that defense with him? Is he bringing all that?
I'm telling you, straight up, I don't believe in him."
To be honest, this really just screams that Wilbon hasn't been paying attention to what's been going on with McCarthy this offseason with the Vikings.
Maybe he has been paying attention, and he truly hasn't been impressed with anything, but what he said on Tuesday is just more of the same recycled takes about how the second-year quarterback is a "rookie," so that automatically means he's going to struggle.
Nothing is mentioned about how Minnesota revamped more than half of its starting offensive line this offseason to give McCarthy better protection. Nothing is mentioned about how the young passer is being guided by Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, who has quickly emerged as one of the top quarterback gurus in the entire NFL.
And for the last time: McCarthy is not a rookie. Yes, he's inexperienced when it comes to actual in-game action, but he's not a rookie.
McCarthy wasn't on the field with Minnesota last season, but he still gained a ton of valuable experience during his rookie campaign with the team.
Unlike Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears or Drake Maye of the New England Patriots, McCarthy has been learning the same offense for more than a year heading into the 2025 season. He's also been present for team and positional group meetings, and he's spent time building chemistry with his teammates in the locker room, on the sideline, and in the offseason.
If the Vikings didn't think McCarthy was ready to open the 2025 season as their starter, then he wouldn't be starting. It's as simple as that. O'Connell would not throw him onto the field if he didn't believe the young quarterback was capable of running his offense well.
No one is expecting McCarthy to be perfect this season. But assuming he's going to come out and look like a lost puppy because he's essentially a "rookie" seems extremely foolish.