One of the biggest storylines surrounding the Minnesota Vikings heading into the 2025 season—and arguably one of the biggest in the NFL as a whole—is how quarterback J.J. McCarthy will fare after missing his entire rookie campaign due to a fully torn meniscus in his right knee.
The season-ending injury, of course, was discovered a few days after the Vikings' first preseason game last August against the Las Vegas Raiders, one in which the No. 10 overall pick completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, thus earning a solid 116.8 passer rating in a 24-23 victory.
McCarthy appears to be fully recovered heading into training camp, as he participated in all of the Vikings' offseason workouts.
Naturally, though, given what went down a season ago, one has to wonder how much action head coach Kevin O'Connell will allow his young signal-caller to see during this year's preseason, which consists of matchups against the Houston Texans (Aug. 9), New England Patriots (Aug. 16), and Tennessee Titans (Aug. 22).
Minnesota Vikings insider thinks J.J. McCarthy will play in at least one 2025 preseason game
During an appearance on KFXN-FM radio on Wednesday, the Minnesota Star Tribune's Ben Goessling weighed in on the situation and said he believes there's a good chance McCarthy takes the field for game one but not game two.
"I think there's a good chance he plays in that one [against the Texans]. He's not going to play against the Patriots."
That sounds plausible. And it's common for starters to skip at least one preseason game. One would think McCarthy and the rest of the Minnesota starters might get a series or two in in game three against the Titans, but that obviously remains to be seen.
Naturally, there's a ton of pressure on McCarthy to perform. Yes, that same pressure is there for any first-round draft pick, but the quarterback position comes with more than any other. Throw in what Sam Darnold did last year, and that pressure only intensifies.
Darnold, of course, was signed to a one-year, $10 million deal last offseason and was seen as a placeholder and somewhat of a mentor until McCarthy was ready to take the reins.
But when McCarthy went down, Darnold stepped up and had the best season of his career, setting personal bests in completion percentage (66.2), passing yardage (4,319), TD passes (35), and passer rating (102.5) in leading the Vikings to a 14-3 regular-season record.
There was talk of bringing Darnold back to the Twin Cities, but he ultimately signed a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks.
So, while Justin Jefferson may be the face of the franchise, as he should be, this is now McCarthy's team, and Vikings fans everywhere are eager to see what the 22-year-old can do.