J.J. McCarthy’s Injury Strategy Leaves Vikings Scrambling for Answers
For Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 2025 season was supposed to be about him establishing himself as one of the top young signal-callers. Unfortunately, due to a high ankle sprain, McCarthy hasn't had enough time to show much of anything this year.
After missing his entire rookie season because of a knee injury, one might assume the young quarterback has been feeling pretty down during the last few weeks while sidelined with his latest injury. But that hasn't been the case, at least according to what Minnesota edge rusher Jonathan Greenard said about McCarthy during a recent appearance on the "Up & Adams" show with Kay Adams.
"I mean, just based off from last year to now, he's taking it way differently. You can just kind of see he knows, obviously, he's going to come back. I think last year, he kind of knew that he wasn't going to be coming back anytime soon.
But just to see he still has the same fight. I mean, if you've literally seen him, I think this past game, obviously, any game you see, he's one of the first guys cheering everybody on after a big touchdown or big play as if he just got off the field.
And sometimes we've got to pull him back. He's still dealing with that ankle, so we're kind of like, 'hey bro, chill out. We still got to have you come back.'
But just his infectious spirit of how he kind of just makes sure everything is not about him. Obviously, you see guys get injured, and it just kind of gets them down in the dumps, and they're like, 'Oh man, everything's over.' I haven't seen that at all.
So, to see him be the same person, if not more of who he was already, man, it's great.”
Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy ready to pick back up where he left off when he returns in 2025
McCarthy has missed the Vikings' last three games because of his ankle injury, and the team was able to come away with wins in two of those three contests with Carson Wentz starting under center.
The hope appears to be that McCarthy will be able to return to practice next week, and depending on how he looks in those sessions, it's possible that he could be back in the starting lineup for Minnesota's Week 7 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Of course, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell has also made sure to mention multiple times in the last couple of weeks that he wants McCarthy as healthy as possible before he returns to the field for the team.
Part of the young quarterback's skill-set is his ability to scramble and gain yards with his legs, so O'Connell wants to make sure that he's still able to do that whenever he plays in another game.
We'll find out a lot more about McCarthy's status for Week 7 during the next handful of days, but at the very least, it's good to find out that he's still been keeping his head up while not playing and recovering from his ankle injury.
New Celtics free agent addition flashes intriguing potential in Grizzlies win
The Celtics bet on players with untapped upside with many of their offseason moves this summer and saw some encouraging returns out of their gate in their preseason opener Wednesday night. One of the promising highlights in Boston’s 121-103 win over the Grizzlies came from reserve forward Josh Minott. Boston signed the 23-year-old to a two-year deal back in July after he spent the first three years of his career largely buried on the bench in Minnesota. Opportunity in Boston helped Minott land with the Celtics in free agency and he started to show the promise of a potentially increased role on Wednesday night.
Minott stuffed the box score with eight points, seven rebounds, three rebounds, three steals and a block in a team-high 26 minutes off the bench in the 18-point win. He struggled from the 3-point line in the victory (0-of-3) but left his fingerprints all over other aspects of the game with constant energy on the defensive end or hitting the boards.
“He just has a knack for the situation or play on both ends of the floor,” Joe Mazzulla told reporters in Memphis. “Whether it’s getting offensive rebounds, a couple steals, a couple blocks. He has some good versatility, but he has a knack for the ball and a knack for being in the mix. He was able to generate some steals an deflections tonight and obviously some offensive rebounds.”
Minott has never played more than 20 minutes in a regular season game during his three years in Minnesota on a stacked playoff roster so Boston’s wing rotation should open the door for some opportunity for him. Beyond Sam Hause and Jaylen Brown, there’s no one who is a lock for big minutes at the position as the likes of Minott, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez will battle for minutes off the bench. All of those players acquitted themselves well at spots in Wednesday’s win but it was Minott and Gonzalez that stood out from the pack with their defense and motor.
The Celtics gave Minott a two-year deal (with a team option) this summer so this bet has the potential to produce big dividends when Jayson Tatum returns to the fold next season if Minott can establish himself as a rotation player. The Celtics have not had a player that brings his athleticism and energy off the bench for a few years now and it’s evident that uptempo is the style that Joe Mazzulla wants this team to have as its identity. Minott played well into that a reserve in the blowout win.
“At both ends of the floor we played with the right intentions,” Mazzulla told reporters in Memphis. “So we’ve got to continue to do that. Of the 48 minutes, I’d probably say 32 to 34 of them were at the pace we wanted to play with at both ends of the floor. We just have to work to maintain those habits.”
Minott’s role in the rotation will be worth watching on Friday night as Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons and Neemias Queta return to the lineup after getting the night off in Memphis. It’s possible other starters are rested for the matchup but Minott did enough on Wednesday night to warrant another long look from the coaching staff.
