Kevin O’Connell remains non-committal toward J.J. McCarthy starting on Sunday, but not for the reason you think
Questions continue to remain with the Vikings and the quarterback position.
The Minnesota Vikings are in a tough situation when it comes to the quarterback position.
J.J. McCarthy feels like the obvious choice to put in there, mainly because the Vikings selected him at 10th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He started just two games before suffering a high ankle sprain that kept him out for the next three.
Meanwhile, Carson Wentz led the team to a 2-1 record, but his performance was incredibly inconsistent. However, some of the numbers he has put up have left many wanting him to be the guy.
Kevin O’Connell won’t commit to J.J. McCarthy as Sunday’s starter
During Monday’s press conference, head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about McCarthy’s status, and one thing was the focus: fundamentals.
“He got good work last week, it was great to get back on the grass, and had some good sessions out there, getting back to a lot of the principles of lower body mechanics and things that had been really good parts of his early journey here, and didn’t even hit me till we were out there,” said O’Connell. “He practiced one time since we had left Chicago. He practiced one time officially. So a lot of it was allowing him to get his health back and get his feedback underneath him, but then building that foundation of fundamentals and techniques.
“It’s the foundation of throwing mechanics from the ground up that he’s really taken to since he since he got here, and just the consistency of it, whether it was dealing through playing through that injury, you know, towards the second half of that Atlanta game or and really, you’re not talking about an incredible amount of work when you’re considering that when that injury happened in the week that he had leading into that game. So, [we are] very excited to get him back officially practicing.”
The fundamentals are huge when it comes to McCarthy, as they were very inconsistent over the first two games. Having a proper base under him has been something that O’Connell has been very clear about that. He also didn’t mention who the starter would be.
“I don’t necessarily want to put a percentage on where I think he’s at health-wise, and I think we’ll this week will be massive for our whole team, but just to see JJ back out there getting reps and working through the process of building that foundation back up, and we got off to a really good start last week. I was very fortunate to get that time,” said O’Connell.
“We’ve got to prepare to try to win a game on Sunday. And Carson, you know, as well, working with, you know, his left shoulder, he’ll practice as well. But we really want to get our team ready to go, and in the process of doing that.”
The big thing with O’Connell and the quarterback situation has always been that he wants McCarthy to be fully healthy before he takes back over the starting job. Getting back on the practice field is the first step. The next will be ensuring a proper base underneath him, something that has been a focus of the Vikings since McCarthy got into the building.
The next week is going to be huge for McCarthy, as it will determine if he is the starting quarterback or not come Sunday.
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