Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Facing Uncertainty Ahead of 2025 Season

J.J. McCarthy failed to kick off his professional career with the Minnesota Vikings after a preseason injury sidelined him for the entire season. The franchise drafted the quarterback as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Vikings were likely to hand him the primary QB role, but the Michigan Wolverines product tore his right knee meniscus against the Las Vegas Raiders in the preseason opener. 

During an episode of ESPN's "NFL Live" show, analyst Dan Graziano discussed McCarthy's chances to suit up for the Vikings in Week 1. 

"He looks the way they would expect him to look at this point in his developmental process," Graziano said on June 23. "And that's the key thing to understand, the process. Adam Schefter says there's nobody under more pressure but they don't want him to focus on the pressure he's under.

"They want him to focus on the process. Is he ready to start right now? Probably not. Can he be the first weekend in September? The Vikings believe that he can. He's been working on detail stuff, fundamental stuff."

Graziano feels that McCarthy has more work to do since he couldn't play a single snap in what could've been his rookie NFL season.

"Remember, he lost last year due to injury, so that's a year of development he didn't get working on altering the trajectory of some of his throws. So, that's been a lot of what the offseason has been like: A lot of learning, a lot of putting the lessons into practice for J.J. McCarthy."