With their final game of the 2025 season against the Green Bay Packers now less than a week away, the Minnesota Vikings still don't know if J.J. McCarthy is going to be available for the matchup or not.
McCarthy missed Minnesota's Christmas Day victory over the Detroit Lions last week with a hairline fracture in his throwing hand, and his status for the Vikings' upcoming season finale against the Packers is still up in the air.
During his presser on Monday, Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell shared an update on his young quarterback and gave some insight about what they want to see from him before clearing him to play on Sunday.
"J.J. McCarthy's progressing. Swelling in that hand has come down a little bit. Really, it's just going to be about working through it this week and seeing what his grip strength is like.
...it's just going to be making sure we can get him at least comfortable enough to maybe get some work and absorb some of the game plan. Then, as we get into Thursday and Friday, what does that look like?
And if we can [get him comfortable enough], he's gotten a chance to get some opportunities, [and] he's got a lot of practice time in [this season].
So, it's not quite like it was maybe early in the year, where you were very aware of what that week where he had the baby felt like or coming off of the ankle [injury], getting him some work to prepare him to come back and play well, which he did versus Detroit, coming off that time sitting down.
So it'll just be purely about that grip strength and where we can get him to."
What would be the purpose of Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy playing in Week 18 against the Green Bay Packers?
O'Connell did also add on Monday that he would love to see McCarthy get another start under his belt. But did the Vikings' head coach say this because he's tired of watching Max Brosmer struggle to throw for 50 yards in an entire matchup or because he actually wants McCarthy to get more in-game reps?
Even if McCarthy can play on Sunday, it's not like he will be taking on a Packers defense at full strength. In addition to the guys that Green Bay has lost to injuries throughout the season, they're expected to have several notable players sit out Sunday's contest in order to rest up for the first round of the playoffs.
It's essentially going to be a preseason game that counts this weekend, so how valuable would it really be for Minnesota's young quarterback?
As O'Connell said, McCarthy has had a lot of opportunities and practice time this season. So would his performance against a bunch of backup Green Bay players really factor into the Vikings' evaluation of him this offseason?
Regardless, it seems like Minnesota is going to do everything it can to get McCarthy back on the field one final time this season. Whether that turns out to be the right decision or not is something we will all have to wait to find out.