The Minnesota Vikings returned from their bye week, not yet ready to rule J.J. McCarthy in or out at quarterback after missing the past three games with a sprained ankle.
McCarthy was back at practice with the Vikings for their light workout on Monday afternoon, after spending much of the week off working with coaches on some of the finer points of the position where progress has been hindered by injury. Coach Kevin O'Connell said he was “very fortunate” to have that time on the field with his protégé.
He also said his decision on whether McCarthy will play on Sunday against Philadelphia or Carson Wentz makes a fourth straight start won't come until later in the week, indicating no rush to make a simultaneous public announcement.
“Those two things can be on different timelines,” O'Connell said.
Wentz played through a sore non-throwing shoulder to lead the Vikings to a critical victory over Cleveland after taking a hard hit during that game in London on Oct. 5, but O'Connell didn't raise any alarm about his availability for facing the Eagles, the team that drafted him second overall in 2016, after a full week of rest. What the coach did sound concerned about was providing McCarthy enough time to get back up to speed, considering he missed a month's worth of full-team practice time, coming off a rookie year that was spent rehabilitating from knee surgery.
“You can talk about routes and certain throws and certain plays and things like that, but it’s the foundation of throwing mechanics from the ground up that he’s really taken to since he’s gotten here,” O'Connell said. “I'm very excited to get him back officially practicing. I don’t necessarily want to put a percentage on where he’s at health-wise. I think this week will be massive for our whole team.”
Specifically for McCarthy, O'Connell has said repeatedly since the injury that he's stressing the importance of polishing his lower-body passing mechanics, ensuring his eyes and feet are properly in sync for each throw. His performance over the first two games left plenty to work on, including patience with the in-game plan.
“One of the things that he’s taken away from watching Carson play was just the power of completions that maybe don’t necessarily always go to the first or second progression,” O'Connell said.
The Vikings (3-2) have much more to focus on than whether or not the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft is back under center this week or not. From penalties to fumbles to the smaller problems in between, the entire offense needs to perform better whether behind McCarthy or Wentz.
“We’ve won games with two different guys this year,” O'Connell said. “We’ve found a rhythm at times that, as much as that quarterback plays a huge role in it, we’ve got to make sure our offense plays with.”
Getting closer to full strength
The Vikings opened the 21-day window for linebacker Blake Cashman (hamstring) to return from injured reserve, putting him on track to play on Sunday, nearly six weeks out from the injury. He praised the health and performance staff for guiding him on a plan to “bullet-proof” his hamstring to help prevent a recurrence.
“To not be able to reap the benefits or the rewards of playing out there on Sundays, it hurts the soul a little bit, but that’s where you've got to understand you’ve got to get healthy and stay resilient and be patient through the process,” Cashman said.
Cashman said patience with the injury has now paid off.
"I feel great, through the past four weeks I've had to be patient, get the leg right," he added. "But, you know, when you get to be able to be back on the grass with your brothers, you start feeling like yourself again."
His fellow linebacker Andrew Van Ginkle has also been out, dealing with a neck injury. O'Connell provided a brief update on his status but it appears he may miss another week. He is not cleared to return to full practice yet.
"He's doing better," O'Connell said. "He's going to be working on a side field early this week. What I see is his workload picking up as we go. I don't really have an update on his availability for Sunday yet but he'll be a key guy to get back in."
Joining McCarthy and Cashman on the return-to-practice list on Monday were left guard Donovan Jackson (wrist), center Michael Jurgens (hamstring) and right tackle Brian O'Neill (knee). Running back Aaron Jones (hamstring) must miss at least one more game on injured reserve. Center Ryan Kelly (concussion) is out indefinitely.
Jackson had a minor medical procedure to get him back on the field for the Vikings, helping to stabilize an offensive line gutted by injuries early in the season. Against Cleveland, the Vikings finished the game with only one of their projected starters (right guard Will Fries) playing the entire game. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw was back, but he's on a snap count as he continues to come back from a torn ACL and didn't play the entire game.
"I was talking to trainers, if that was our concern, saying how if I felt good afterwards I'll be like, 'well, I don't need it.' They're like, 'no, you need it, you're young, get it fixed now so it's not nagging you, down the stretch.' So you know, got it fixed," Jackson said about his wrist surgery. "It sucked not being able to be out there with my teammates, but you know, I was able to be out there in spirit and hopefully get it going and get more confidence."
Despite their backups playing most of the game against Cleveland, the Vikings were able to neutralize one of the NFL's top pass rushers, Myles Garrett. They'll have their hands full again this week against Jalen Carter and the Eagles.