You won’t see rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy under center for the Vikings this season, but his development and presence around TCO Performance Center isn’t a lost cause.
In fact, McCarthy can be seen moving faster than most players walking around the facility. That’s thanks to his motorized scooter that allows McCarthy, the 10th overall pick who sustained a season-ending knee injury in his first preseason game, to rest his leg while cruising down the halls.
“We make a couple jokes here and there,” quarterback Nick Mullens quipped. “Keep it light.”
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said the Vikings coaching staff is intent on not wasting this season for McCarthy’s ongoing development, which was sidetracked but not shelved because of the torn meniscus suffered in his right knee sometime during the Aug. 10 exhibition.
McCarthy will be around the team as much as possible this season, O’Connell said. The coach’s plans for the 21-year-old rookie will include a weekly meeting together to assess that Sunday’s game plan as if he were going to play.
“I want to see him, I want his teammates to see him every day,” O’Connell said. “I want him in meetings. I’m going to meet with him personally one day a week to make sure that I can personally be challenging him on his ownership of the game plans: the why behind things we’re doing, the play intent.”
“I want J.J. to feel like he’s a support system for Sam [Darnold] in that quarterback room,” O’Connell added. “But at the same time, bigger picture, making sure we don’t waste one moment where there could be some growth and development and really continue that positive momentum that I think a lot of us saw in training camp before the injury.”
Positive momentum included improvement in training camp and during his only preseason action, when he completed 11 of 17 throws for 188 yards and two touchdowns against the Raiders.
