The Minnesota Vikings are just weeks away from J.J. McCarthy’s first career start, yet there doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency in Minnesota.
After McCarthy missed his entire rookie season with a meniscus injury, the 22-year-old quarterback is expected to be the team’s Week 1 starter in a primetime matchup against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
The stage couldn’t be brighter for McCarthy, who played a series in the team’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans.
The Athletic’s Derrik Klassen took issue with McCarthy’s limited workload, questioning his readiness and the Vikings’ decision to hold him out of the second preseason game against the New England Patriots.
“Unfortunately, it was not as many reps [in the first preseason game] as I would have liked,” Klassen said on an August 15 episode of “The Athletic Football Show.” “I think the starters were only out there for a drive, and I would have liked to have seen two or three.”
Against the Texans, McCarthy led a 10-play scoring drive, completing 4 of 7 pass attempts for 30 yards. Klassen referred to a throw to receiver Jordan Addison in the preseason opener that went for an 18-yard gain but was slightly off-target and caught by Addison with a spectacular diving effort.
Read more: J.J. McCarthy Faces Brutally Honest Take After Vikings Camp
“Baker Mayfield can throw it through a keyhole the way that we saw from J.J. McCarthy on that throw to [Jordan] Addison,” Klassen added. “He also, because he’s doing that, sometimes you grip the ball a little too tight and you just overshoot a guy by four yards.”
It’s a fair critique that McCarthy may be holding the ball a bit too tight in the first game he has played in a calendar year. However, Addison was held coming out of his break on an anticipation throw. McCarthy was also hit as he threw.
I feel this was J.J. McCarthy’s “best throw” of the one series he played in the pre-season opener vs. Texans. It was also his longest completion of the game (18 yards). McCarthy finished the day 4/7 (57.1%) for 30 yards. He averaged 4.3 yards per pass attempt.Stats: ESPN pic.twitter.com/GT6NKfxNHW
— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) August 9, 2025
Klassen wasn’t entirely pessimistic about McCarthy’s preparedness for the season.
“I’m just hoping that’s something he cleans up a little bit more as he gets used to feeling how the bullets are flying again. Because, again, once you haven’t played for a year, it can be tricky to feel the timing of all that,” Klassen said.
Read more: Vikings Coach Offers Cryptic J.J. McCarthy Update
While McCarthy did not play against the Patriots on Saturday, he put on a show in joint practices, which head coach Kevin O’Connell has used as his main evaluation of his quarterbacks in the past.
According to The Athletic’s Patriots beat reporter Chad Graff, McCarthy looked like a “star,” completing 17 of 20 passes for six touchdowns against New England’s starters on the second day of joint practices.
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