Healthy and feeling as though he’s mentally prepared for an opportunity, J.J. McCarthy simply wants a fair shot at an opportunity to earn playing time in 2025.
Appearing on the “Rich Eisen Show” on Tuesday, the Vikings quarterback noted he has no control over Minnesota’s roster situation – so he doesn’t dwell on it. Will Sam Darnold re-sign in Minnesota? Will Daniel Jones? Will the Vikings bring in another veteran to compete with the team’s No. 12 overall selection in last spring’s draft?
That’s all to be determined. McCarthy told Eisen his conversations with coach Kevin O’Connell “have been … about the greatest thing for the Minnesota Vikings.”
“At the end of the day, there’s a lot of things that are certainly above my paygrade, and some things that are above his paygrade,” McCarthy said. “He’s the one that has the pen last on the field, and that’s about all I know.”
McCarthy said he’s “feeling fantastic” and “couldn’t be in a better spot” with his mental, physical and spiritual health. He’s said it’s “very fair” to say his recovery from the torn meniscus that wiped out his rookie campaign is ahead of schedule. McCarthy is counting down the days to organized team activities.
McCarthy reiterated the value of witnessing the operation of a successful team this fall, and noted how much he learned picking the brains of not only the numerous veterans who cycled through the Vikings’ quarterback room, but also O’Connell, who McCarthy holds in high regard.
McCarthy called his injury a “blessing in disguise,” noting the front-end mental work he was able to put in regarding preparation that should set him up to succeed when he does retake the field. Whether that will be as the team’s starting signal caller in 2025 remains to be seen, though McCarthy does seem well-positioned to take those reins.
“All I can ask for is a fair opportunity. That’s the one thing that I feel like everybody is given, and it’s fundamental. When money gets involved, things get complicated and reps get skewed, and there’s different things that come into the whole political world that everyone talks about,” McCarthy said. “But I really just have to hone in and focus on controlling what I can control. My feelings don’t matter. I’m not getting any grace. There’s no sympathy. This is the big leagues. And just being able to approach it with a steadfast, narrow, tunnel vision on the task at hand, which is that workout that day, that film study, that extra little thing I’m going to do for my fiance that day, just really staying in the moment, because that gives me the most peace of mind through all of this.”