J.J. McCarthy's rookie-year injury luck has followed him into year 2, but for once the news is good. Teasley told reporters Wednesday that McCarthy has practiced in full for two consecutive days and that the team expects him on the roster to start the season, closing out weeks of uncertainty about whether an ankle injury would cost him a spot entirely.
Vikings GM Nolan Teasley said J.J. McCarthy has practiced in full the past two days. He said he expects McCarthy to be on the team’s roster to start the season.
The injury itself dates back to Minnesota's second preseason game, when McCarthy went down and was ultimately held out of the preseason finale as a precaution. That's been the story of his young career: the Vikings took him 10th overall in the 2024 draft, then watched him miss his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus before he ever threw a regular-season pass. Last year wasn't much cleaner — a high-ankle sprain, a concussion and a hairline fracture in his throwing hand limited him to 10 starts, in which he completed 57.6% of his throws for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
That injury history is exactly why this week's update matters more than a routine roster note would. Beat writers on the scene made sure to nail down the specifics of what Teasley actually said, since a QB with McCarthy's medical file doesn't get the benefit of the doubt from anyone watching from outside the building.
#Vikings GM Nolan Teasley says QB J.J. McCarthy has practiced fully the last two days. Expects him on roster Week 1. “Pleased that he’s part of the present version of the Minnesota Vikings and excited about his future.”
What Teasley wouldn't do is hand McCarthy the keys. Kyler Murray is Minnesota's starter heading into the opener against Green Bay, and with Carson Wentz also on the QB depth chart, the GM stopped short of naming McCarthy the backup. His answer on McCarthy's job description was carefully vague: "continue to develop, to improve and to support his teammates." That's a long way from the franchise-quarterback billing McCarthy carried out of the 2024 draft.
Still, just being on the roster is the headline after a preseason stretch where his standing looked genuinely shaky. A former top-10 pick who missed a full season and has now been hurt in each of his first two preseasons doesn't get to make a roster on reputation alone — the two full practices Teasley cited were the tangible proof the team needed before committing a spot to him.
For now, McCarthy's job is to stay healthy and stay ready behind Murray, with Week 1 against the Packers as the first real checkpoint. Whether he ever climbs back to QB1 in Minnesota depends less on this roster decision than on whether his body finally lets him string together a full, healthy stretch of football.