The Minnesota Vikings got off to a slow start in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. They were down by as much as 17-6 in the third quarter of the season opener against the Chicago Bears, but then things began to flip.
First-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy came into his own in the fourth quarter, scoring three total touchdowns in a comeback victory. This included a rushing touchdown to essentially ice the game with just under three minutes left.
Minnesota fans, after panicking for three quarters, started to believe once again that they had a franchise quarterback in McCarthy.
That all came crashing down, of course, in Minnesota's brutal Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, in which McCarthy fumbled three times (losing one) and threw two interceptions.
Minnesota Vikings may have just subtly demoted quarterback J.J. McCarthy
Ahead of Week 3's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, it is abundantly clear that McCarthy needs to make drastic improvements. The best avenue for this is trial by fire, but it was announced on Monday that McCarthy is expected to miss several weeks with a high-ankle sprain.
There was not really a moment in the game where it looked like McCarthy sustained this injury, which led some to nefarious conclusions.
The Minnesota Star Tribune's Michael Rand is even accusing the team of "soft benching" McCarthy, indicating that his injury is not as serious as it sounds, and the team is potentially using it as an excuse to start Carson Wentz as McCarthy works through his struggles.
Typically, the Vikings like to let their injuries play out in the injury report through the week before making an official decision on Friday. But Minnesota's choice to get out in front of it on Monday seems like they could be waiting for the offensive line to get healthy before throwing him back out there.
No matter what the exact circumstances of his injury are, it may behoove both McCarthy and the Vikings to have him sit and learn a bit. Outside of one quarter against a bad Bears team, the young player has looked a bit lost.
He is still the franchise player and likely to blossom into at least an adequate NFL quarterback, especially with Kevin O'Connell pulling the strings, but that does not mean he is ready to help this team win right now.
It seems like Wentz will be taking the reins for at least the near future in Minnesota as the Vikings work through McCarthy's injuries and shortcomings as a player. Whether they subtly benched him or not, he won't be out there this Sunday.