On Saturday, J.J. McCarthy is going to have the opportunity to return to the site where his rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings abruptly came to an end.
Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell announced on Monday that McCarthy will be playing in the team's 2025 preseason opener against the Houston Texans inside U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday. It will be the second-year quarterback's first in-game NFL action since he played in Minnesota's first preseason matchup of 2024 against the Las Vegas Raiders last August.
McCarthy played well in the exhibition contest against the Raiders last summer, completing 11 of his 17 throws (64.7 percent) for 188 yards (11.1 yards per attempt), two touchdowns, and one interception to finish with a 116.8 passer rating.
Of course, we also later found out that he tore his MCL in the matchup, and that injury wound up costing him his entire rookie campaign with the Vikings.
How much should the Minnesota Vikings play J.J. McCarthy in the team's 2025 preseason opener against the Houston Texans?
With Minnesota confirming that McCarthy will be active for Saturday's preseason opener, the team now has to figure out how long they want to keep him on the field.
What are the Vikings looking to accomplish with McCarthy this weekend? Is it more about helping him adjust to the home stadium and developing a pre-game routine, or does Minnesota want him to get a good amount of live reps against an opposing defense for the first time since last summer?
It would be incredibly surprising if the Vikings kept McCarthy on the field for longer than one quarter on Saturday. Whatever reward Minnesota might think it will get from playing him more than a quarter isn't worth the risk that it could potentially have on the team's entire 2025 season.
Last year, former Vikings starting signal-caller Sam Darnold only appeared in the team's first preseason matchup, and then he was inactive for their other two preseason contests.
So will Saturday's exhibition against Houston be the only time we see McCarthy in a game for Minnesota until they open the 2025 regular season against the Chicago Bears, or will the Vikings want to see more from their young quarterback before Week 1?