J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings participates in a drill during training camp.
The training wheels are off for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who is poised to assume the role as the team’s starting quarterback — the first step in realizing their aspirations for him to become a franchise player.
McCarthy’s NFL journey is already unprecedented. The 22-year-old, who is the youngest projected starter for the 2025 season, is the only first-round quarterback to miss their entire rookie season after he suffered a meniscus injury last August.
While McCarthy may have lost the opportunity to play his rookie year, Justin Jefferson is unconcerned with his quarterback’s readiness, issuing a challenge for McCarthy.
“I’m excited for J.J. … I’m definitely expecting a lot from him,” Jefferson said with a chuckle in a promotional video for his football camp at IMG Academy, where McCarthy played his senior year of prep football. “So, it’s definitely going to be exciting, just being a leader of the team, being a captain of the team. Seeing him go through the injury process, and him you know just waiting patiently for his chance, he’s going to do his thing.”
J.J. McCarthy, Vikings Face Unprecedented Challenge in 2025 Season
Sidelined physically for nine months, McCarthy did the mental prep required for him to take command of the Vikings offense.
But how he’ll handle the mental toil of the grueling NFL season remains to be seen.
The Vikings have a daunting schedule, which includes back-to-back international games in different countries, a first for any team in NFL history.
Sportsbook Review compiled fatigue scores for every NFL team and found the Vikings’ schedule to rank ninth in overall fatigue. The early trip across the pond to the United Kingdom — a Week 4 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin and a Week 5 bout with the Cleveland Browns in London — could be early hurdles for McCarthy.
“We’ve never seen an NFL schedule quite like the Vikings’, particularly because of that historic two-week trip overseas. If they weren’t staying in Dublin to offset some of that travel fatigue, they’d feature one of the five toughest loads of any team this season,” Sportsbook Review’s C Jackson Cowert told Heavy exclusively.
“Minnesota has the double-whammy of ranking in the top 10 in fatigue and in opponent strength, which could make for an unwelcome start to J.J. McCarthy’s career. While the Europe trip is a doozy, the Vikings play four games with a rest disadvantage – fourth-most in the league – and they’re one of just four teams to play an entire month without a home game at any point.”
McCarthy is Ready
Jefferson’s expectations are high for McCarthy for good reason: the young quarterback is ready.
If there were any concerns, the Vikings would have brought in a more experienced backup. Instead, Kevin O’Connell opted to take a developmental project in Sam Howell from the Seattle Seahawks.
Howell is not going to lead a deep playoff run and does not have the physical gifts that McCarthy has.
However, O’Connell has worked wonders with less at the position.
When Kirk Cousins went down in 2023, Nick Mullens averaged 370 yards passing in three starts.
The offense is designed to make decisions easy for the quarterback, and the personnel only improved in a year that will center around helping McCarthy be his best.
Trevor Squire is a sports journalist covering the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks. Trevor studied journalism at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities, making stops at the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @trevordsquire. More about Trevor Squire
