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Kevin Seifert
LOS ANGELES — The Minnesota Vikings appear to be clearing the way for J.J. McCarthy to return as their starting quarterback next week after a six-week recovery from a high right ankle sprain.
McCarthy has served as the Vikings’ emergency third quarterback for two consecutive games, including Thursday night’s 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Afterward, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell reaffirmed his commitment to getting McCarthy back on the field as soon as possible.
“If J.J. is healthy, J.J. will play,” O’Connell said. “That’s been the case since the injury. That’s always been kind of my mindset, and I believe we’re right — hopefully — around the corner from seeing him be healthy, have a week of preparation and go compete.”
McCarthy started the Vikings’ first two games of the season but reported significant soreness in his right ankle the morning after a 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 14. O’Connell initially classified McCarthy’s status as “week-to-week,” and McCarthy later said he received a timetable of up to six weeks for a full recovery. The Vikings put him through a workout Tuesday at their practice facility to see if playing against the Chargers was an option, but O’Connell said: “J.J. and the medical staff didn’t quite feel like he was there yet.”
With a “mini-bye” this weekend, and then an extra practice scheduled for Monday, the Vikings will give McCarthy a full runway to transition back to the starting role in time for their Nov. 2 game at the Detroit Lions.
Backup Carson Wentz has started five games in McCarthy’s place, compiling a 2-3 record, but has been playing with a significant left shoulder injury that had him in obvious distress Thursday night. He said it “quite possibly” was the most pain he has been in during a football game, and attributed it largely to his shortened recovery time because of a Thursday night game.
The Vikings’ medical staff fitted him with a shoulder harness and several other protective wraps, which Wentz said he had never worn “anything remotely close to” in order to play. He finished 15-of-27 for 144 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He took five sacks and was hit eight times. After taking a hit on a fourth-down incompletion in the fourth quarter, Wentz threw his helmet at the bench — for which he later apologized to the team’s equipment staff — and covered his face with a towel.
“The pain is pain,” Wentz said. “I felt like I could still help this team and find a way to go down and score and all that stuff. So we knew that coming into the game, that it was going to be part of it. And again, that’s the tough part of Thursday night games. [You] just don’t quite get the chance to recover, but that’s no excuse by any means.”
O’Connell said he was in constant conversation with Wentz and the team’s medical staff but never thought he needed to replace him until the game was out of reach. With McCarthy designated the emergency quarterback, the first available option by rule would have been undrafted rookie Max Brosmer.
Brosmer didn’t enter the game until 1 minute, 56 seconds remained.
“Carson’s a veteran player,” O’Connell said, “and he understands some of our circumstances tonight. I think it’s very difficult to ask a rookie to go in there for his first performance and have to be weathering it a little bit for the group.”
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