The Minnesota Vikings have been without starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy for the last two games after he suffered a right ankle sprain that opened the door for backup Carson Wentz to step back into a starting role.
McCarthy got off to a great start in Week 1, becoming the first player in NFL history to account for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter of his NFL debut. He also joined legend Fran Tarkenton as the only two players to throw multiple passing touchdowns in their Vikings debut.
But after McCarthy went down with his ankle injury, Vikings fans have been left in the dark about when he could possibly return.
“As we go through the weekend, and then on our way in making the trip to London, he will truly be day-to-day and we’ll see where he is at,” head coach Kevin O’Connell told ESPN.
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“If we can start ramping up his workload and at least getting him involved maybe on a limited basis, and allow us to get him on the grass and work some technique and fundamentals, and start building that back up.”
McCarthy’s initial prognosis was a 2-4 week absence, and as he recently told NFL Network’s Jamie Erdahl, he admitted his ankle is starting to heal. Erdahl reported during Sunday’s broadcast from Dublin, Ireland, that McCarthy could soon start practicing again in a limited capacity as early as this coming week.
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“Those physical reps? That’s what the Vikings hope for J.J. McCarthy this week,” Erdahl said, via Heavy.com. “He told me his ankle is feeling better. However, this staff will not let him play until he is at 101%.
“However, if he feels up to it, he will run the scout team quarterback this week in London, just to make sure…he gets his feet back under him and gets some live reps within this offense.”
In McCarthy’s absence, Wentz led the Vikings to a 48-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last week — a game in which he threw for 173 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions — but he took a major step back in Sunday’s 24-21 Week 4 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Ireland.
Though he threw for 350 yards and two touchdowns, Wentz was also intercepted twice he fumbled once, and he was sacked six times playing behind an injury ravaged offensive line (tackle Brian O’Neil and center Ryan Kelly were both injured in Sunday’s loss), so perhaps McCarthy taking an extra week or two to return isn’t a bad thing.
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