The Minnesota Vikings are going through an uneven season with quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Despite the hype, he has yet to make an impact while the team sits in last place in the NFC North with a 4-7 record. While that performance is hardly inspiring, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh recently dropped a surprising message for the Vikings QB.

“Love J.J. Tremendous competitor and player,” Harbaugh recently said as Alex Insdorf reported on X. “But I’m not in a position to weigh in.”

This reaction was not entirely unexpected. McCarthy’s former coach has always praised the QB and advocated for his skills. After all, during Harbaugh’s coaching stint in Michigan, the QB completed 240 of 332 passes for 2991 yards. The two formed a deep bond during this time. However, things are different now.

McCarthy hasn’t been able to play at a pro level after he entered the league. With a 24.8 QBR across six starts, he’s off to one of the roughest career starts for any QB in the last decade. In their game against the Green Bay Packers, McCarthy completed 12 of 19 passes for 87 yards. This was just one more than his fewest this season, when he completed 11 against the Falcons.

In the Packers game, he ended up throwing 2 interceptions and was sacked 5 times. It has been clearly tough for the Vikings to focus on their QBs’ development while the team struggles to compete for a spot in the playoffs.

In all fairness, there are also other issues with the Vikings’ roster, but the most crucial of those is the one with their QB. Recently, head coach Kevin O’Connell also stressed that the QB was improving.

“It’s still definitely a work in progress for sure, but I still believe he’s absolutely under control from a play-call standpoint,” O’Connell said. “There’s little things that happen, like the quarterback getting tripped up on a play pass where you might have a look at something, or maybe the dialogue in the huddle, making sure all 11 are on the same page.”

It seems that Harbaugh echoes a sentiment about McCarthy that many agree with. The QB has potential, but he has been in the wrong situation. One of the big issues for this could be McCarthy’s injuries.

J.J. McCarthy explains how injuries have kept him from reaching his best

A torn meniscus cut McCarthy’s rookie year short as he missed out on the entirety of the 2024 season. McCarthy has also missed quite a few games this season due to his ankle sprain. Most recently, he was placed in the concussion protocol, as per head coach Kevin O’Connell.

These injuries have continued to stop the QB’s development. McCarthy has also opened up about how injuries have ruined his chances with reps and practice.

“It’s very new. Coming in here. I was taught how to play quarterback in a very different way,” he said. “That’s expected going into the league, going to any new team. But at the end of the day, it was the injuries that I felt took away all the reps and constant repetitions to make those a habit and make them concrete.”

NFL analyst Greg Cosell chimed in on the situation recently to explain that while McCarthy’s arm strength shows promise, the QB’s inconsistencies show a young player still adjusting to the NFL’s speed.

“You can see everything is happening a little too fast for him right now,” he said about the QB.

The QB currently has 929 yards, six touchdowns, and 10 interceptions this season. With yet another physical issue sidelining him, McCarthy could likely miss a few more games this season.

The timing could not be worse for Minnesota. Their next test comes on the road against the Seattle Seahawks, a team sitting second in the NFC West and fighting for their own postseason position. For a Vikings squad already sliding, another week without McCarthy under center could push their record further into dangerous territory. With the playoff window narrowing, every missed snap and every missed opportunity makes their postseason hopes look increasingly bleak.