Will it finally be JJ McCarthy‘s year? After getting picked up as the tenth overall pick in last year’s draft, McCarthy must have been hoping for a standout rookie season. But instead, the Michigan alum became the first-ever QB drafted in the first round to entirely miss his rookie year.

After playing his preseason game against the Raiders, McCarthy complained of soreness in practice. It turned out that the Vikings’ first-round pick was struggling with a meniscus injury in his right knee. The rookie QB had to undergo surgery and exit his debut season.

Now, this year, the Vikings hope that McCarthy will finally be back on the gridiron and lead their O-line. But is he healthy enough to return? Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell has got an answer for that.

On Wednesday, O’Connell hopped on for a brief conversation with SiriusXM NFL Radio. When the host asked the Minnesota HC about reports suggesting that McCarthy is not fully recovered and still slow, Kevin shut those rumors down, saying, “Well, JJ’s doing great. Not entirely sure, you know, where a lot of those reports were coming from.” 

The HC explains that once McCarthy was on IR, the team took an extra careful and strategic approach to his recovery. Kevin O’Connell shares that the Vikings team is eagerly waiting for JJ McCarthy to return. “I know his teammates are excited. They’ve been, you know, we’ll get on the grass with those guys starting next week in phase two here. And we’re going to go to work.“

The HC also explains that while recovering, McCarthy had the chance to closely observe veteran QB Sam Darnold. Sam led Minnesota to a 14-3 winning season, so the coach is hoping that watching Darnold helped the young QB understand how to grow within the system.

“He’s had a phenomenal off-season, really taken advantage of the fact that he had that medical type of redshirt year where he could see a guy like Sam Darnold in his first year in the offense grow.” Now, O’Connell hopes that McCarthy applies those learnings as he prepares to finally take the gridiron this year.

Well, with his recovery behind him and a full offseason of growth under his belt, all eyes are now on McCarthy.

JJ McCarthy says he is ready

As Coach Kevin mentioned, the Vikings QB is indeed doing well in terms of health. McCarthy participated in the team’s OTAs, kicking off his 2025 year. On Tuesday, he spoke to the media after his open workout. To silence all the rumors claiming he had not fully recovered, McCarthy gave a six-word response. “I know I’m ready to start,” he told the reporters.

The QB explained that his readiness to start the season comes from all the hard work he put in during the offseason. He mentions “taking one day at a time, one play at a time” to be able to perform at his best. The 22-year-old also credited his coach and teammates for helping him recover from the surgery. Vikings, too, have reflected their faith in McCarthy by not signing any veteran QBs despite having options.

There were reports that Aaron Rodgers wanted to sign with the team. But because the Vikings wanted to develop JJ, they chose not to put him behind a veteran QB. “I haven’t had an injury like this that sat me down for so long. And I was very grateful for the opportunity that I had to get a head start on the mental side of the game, you know, our offense, opponents, defensive schemes, and individual aspects of each player,” McCarthy told the reporters.

The QB explained that he spent his season getting to know his coach and teammates. “Overall, I feel 110% because I feel better than when I got hurt eight months ago. Just really excited to be out here with the guys again and be in the building,” he added. Well, it will be exciting to see how the QB’s first year as an NFL starter will unfold.