With Aaron Rodgers apparently in the rearview mirror, the J.J. McCarthy optimism is roaring. Bynum got a first-hand look at the kind of leader McCarthy is.
One day after news broke that the Minnesota Vikings are allegedly not pursuing Aaron Rodgers, it appears to be full steam ahead on the J.J. McCarthy train.
Safety Cam Bynum, who starred for the Vikings before signing a free-agent deal with the Colts, appeared on Good Morning Football Thursday and called McCarthy a football “maniac” who was a “gunslinger” in practice before suffering a season-ending torn meniscus during the preseason.
“I trust him. J.J.’s somebody that I trust. Just a leader, first and foremost,” Bynum said. “The way that he carried himself as a leader but also still following the right way and still listening and humbling himself to learn from the other guys.
“But the one thing that stood out to me from him, as soon as he got in, he was throwing that ball. He was a gunslinger in practice. First and 10, simple concepts, he’s throwing the deep ball, he’s trying to fire it downfield. That’s something that I respected out of a rookie. Going forward after his injury, he’s sitting there in the defensive team meeting room trying to learn our defense and trying to learn any way he can. He’s kind of a maniac when it comes to football.”
“He’s a maniac when it comes to football overall.”@Cambeezy_ on J.J. McCarthy taking over as the @Vikings QB1 pic.twitter.com/jhXZ5UUbdY
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) March 20, 2025
With Rodgers apparently in the rear-view mirror, McCarthy optimism is likely to run rampant in the media, both local and national. It’s already happening with Tom Pelissero reporting Thursday morning that McCarthy’s knee isn’t and issue and he’s regained the weight that he lost while recovering from surgery, now reportedly weighing between 207 and 209 pounds.
“The way that he carried himself while he was hurt, I can only imagine how he’ll carry himself when he’s healthy,” Bynum added. “When they give him the keys to the program to be able to go and just carry himself as that leader, and they let him know ‘you’re the guy, we’re rolling with you,’ I think J.J.’s going to grow. And like I say, J.J.’s somebody I can trust.”