JJ McCarthy’s Season May Not be Over Just Yet

It’s been a difficult week for the Minnesota Vikings, who are hoping to turn things around today at their second day of joint practices with the Cleveland Browns. Their offense looked like it didn’t belong on the same field as the Browns defense, yesterday. — **See update to this story below** or READ HERE

That wasn’t their biggest problem, though. Jordan Addison was taken off the practice field on a cart, after suffering an ankle injury. Head coach Kevin O’Connell believes to be minor, but we’ve heard that before.

That’s what he said about JJ McCarthy. Remember, on Monday, when the rookie came into TCO Performance Center complaining of knee pain? Now, the future of their franchise is out for the season, with a torn meniscus… or is it?

JJ McCarthy’s season may not be over…?

On Thursday morning, Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) rang the alarm this morning on some official paperwork that is yet to be filed with the NFL league office. For some reason, the Minnesota Vikings have yet to place JJ McCarthy on season-ending IR.

The longtime NFL sleuth noted that, normally, a team would place an injured player like JJ McCarthy on injured reserve almost immediately after determining their season is over. So why is JJ still on the active roster? If Vikings doctors believe there is any chance McCarthy could return before the season expires, then waiting to put him on IR would make sense.

The Vikings have yet to place [JJ McCarthy] on injured reserve, which would indeed end his rookie season. If they wait to do it until after the 53-man rosters are set, he could potentially return later in the year.

Mike Florio – ProFootballTalk.com

**UPDATE: J.J. McCarthy was placed on long-term injured reserve on Friday afternoon, ruling him out for the season. We’ve compiled some backup quarterback options to Sam Darnold. Some are available to the Vikings right now. Others may become available, when camp cuts happen around the NFL later this month.**

Back to the original story: The most obvious reason to move McCarthy to IR would be to open a spot on the 53-man roster. There are as many as 90 players on the Vikings current preseason roster, so spaces are limited and precious.

Minnesota Vikings hoping to get McCarthy back at some point?

But there may not be anything more precious than getting pads back on JJ McCarthy. Once he is deemed healthy, the Vikings will want to get him back into the groove of things ASAP. As Florio notes, the meniscus is not an ACL. It is feasible that, even after having the full replacement surgery, he could return before the end of this season.

Related: Vikings DC Brian Flores Toying with 9-Man Fronts?

And Florio isn’t the only one who has his eye on this. Darren Wolfson, on SKOR North Thursday, said he too has his eyebrows raised at the fact that McCarthy has yet to hit the IR.

“They will technically need to put him on IR, which they haven’t done yet. I mentioned Adrian Peterson’s meniscus repair surgery, 2016, early to mid September. He was back on the field in December. Now, I’m not suggesting JJ McCarthy is going to play week 17 or week 18, but let’s just wait and see.”

Darren Wolfson – SKOR North

Even if the season unfolds in the best possible fashion, and Sam Darnold proves himself to be a reliable No. 1 quarterback originally cast into a system that failed him as a young QB in the NFL, you’d still want McCarthy to feel like a part of the weekly gameplanning and “what if” scenarios.

Related: Vikings Offense Brutalized by Browns Defense at Joint Practices…

So, this doesn’t mean he’ll be thrust onto the field, the moment he gets medically cleared. Nonetheless, if feels kind of good to know he may not be totally done for the season just yet…