More time for McCarthy isn't bad, but it isn't easy
Kevin O'Connell was non-committal on JJ McCarthy's return on Monday
By Matthew Coller
EAGAN — Something we have learned about Kevin O’Connell over the past couple years: When he says the quarterback is “playing point guard,” that means he is happy with the way things are going.
After Sunday’s 48-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals and again on Monday afternoon, the Vikings’ head coach used that phrase to describe the way that Carson Wentz played in the victory.
“I just thought he did a really nice job of playing point guard, throwing completions, allowing guys to win,” O’Connell said. “And then when number one wasn't there, he progressed and found open players.”
According to PFF, Wentz’s 2.55 seconds from snap to release was the second quickest in the NFL in Week 3, only behind Matthew Stafford’s 2.53. On plays where he faced no pressure, the ball came out at 1.99 seconds.
The results followed. Wentz went 14-for-20 overall and 11-for-15 with 130 yards and two touchdowns when throwing faster than 2.5 seconds.
That’s exactly how O’Connell drew it up. Wentz was able to execute it. The Vikings’ head coach was asked how much experience played into the veteran QB being able to get through his progressions quickly. He said:
“It's what allows players to play with poise and conviction,” O’Connell said. “When you couple that with firm and repeatable fundamentals, normally within the lower half of the quarterback's mechanics, you tie those things together, then you have a system, then you have rhythm, then…. it's very difficult for a defense to take away all five eligibles.”
The next natural question for the head coach following his praise for Wentz’s performance against the Bengals is what it means for JJ McCarthy.
The 2024 first-round pick completed 58.5% of his passes for 301 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, nine sacks and a 67.2 QB rating through two starts. He suffered an ankle injury against the Falcons that kept him out of the matchup with Cincinnati.
When we see him next is anyone’s guess. O’Connell responded to a report from CBS’s Tracy Wolfson that McCarthy wouldn’t be ready to go until after the Week 6 bye week, saying, “I would not say that’s accurate.”
He went on to add that he has “responded well” to treatment and that he would be going on the trip to Dublin and London for the next two weeks.
“His mobility is one of his weapons that has clearly already shown to be something that's a positive for him,” O’Connell said. “So we want to make sure he's healthy and allow this to be something that we can put in the rear view mirror and continue on with where he's at in his young career here.”
Of course, there is no benefit for O’Connell to be committal. After all, just like his predecessor, he does not have a crystal ball. When it comes to predicting the future of a quarterback, we should all keep in mind that the greatest QB of all time only got to play because Drew Bledsoe took a nasty hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis.
If O’Connell says that McCarthy is absolutely playing the moment he’s healthy and then Wentz goes 3-0, then what? If he doesn’t say McCarthy is absolutely playing when he’s healthy, then it looks like he isn’t behind McCarthy. There’s no winning that press conference answer.
How do we interpret it? Well, it was notable how often on Monday that O’Connell referred to McCarthy’s age or lack of experience. He brought up McCarthy missing last Thursday’s practice for the birth of his first child.
“As phenomenal as he was getting prepared for the Atlanta game, he did miss practice that week and when you're in the phasing of building up the 10,000 reps and 10,000 hours of what it takes to play the position at a very high level, which we know JJ McCarthy is going to do, you can't cut corners,” O’Connell said.
From everything the head coach said pertaining to the QB situation, we can safely conclude that it’s on the table that we could see Wentz starting for a while. Possibly even a long while.
If the veteran QB operates the offense similarly over the next three weeks and the team keeps winning, it will be impossible for him to bench Wentz, particularly with a locker room full of veteran players who came to Minnesota to win, not develop McCarthy’s 10,000 hours.
After the bye week, the Vikings face off with the Eagles and Chargers on short rest. That’s not exactly an ideal time to throw him back into the fire. After that, they travel to Detroit and then play the Ravens at home. Still, not ideal. The Packers, Lambeau Field and Micah Parsons are up two weeks after that. It might be difficult for the head coach to land on a safe spot to bring McCarthy back into action if the Vikings are still fighting for the top of the NFC North.
Admittedly, those are factors that most Vikings fans do not want to hear about.
Because McCarthy was the franchise QB who was promised, the fan base wants to see him right now. It’s not a bold statement to suggest that many would rather see McCarthy go 7-10 than Wentz lead them to the playoffs because the 10th overall pick in 2024 was supposed to be the QB who broke the long streak of this franchise struggling to find its long-term quarterback. The purple faithful have grown tired of rent-a-QBs only being able to take them so far.
The idea that Wentz could take the Vikings the rest of the way must feel jarring after the team spent its spring picking McCarthy over Aaron Rodgers and Sam Darnold and its summer giving him virtually no competition with Sam Howell as the backup. There was no indication that he was anything other than the ride-or-die quarterback for 2025. And now after two games, that’s not the case?
Well, remember what I said about QBs being unpredictable?
No matter how badly fans want McCarthy to play and want to find out whether he can be the dream franchise QB that Daunte Culpepper and Teddy Bridgewater never became due to injuries, you can’t rage tweet a quarterback into being ready to play.
You can point out all of the advantages that Wentz had (and will have) over McCarthy in terms of circumstances i.e. Christian Darrisaw’s return, the run game performing at a higher clip, the quick-game being dialed up by KOC and Jordan Addison’s upcoming return.
But that doesn’t change the possibility that the coaching staff might believe that they have a better chance to win right now with Wentz. And as long as they are chasing the NFC North crown and a return to the postseason after a 14-win season with Sam Darnold at the helm, they are likely to play the guy who gives them the best chance to win.
History is often on the side of taking it slow with quarterbacks. In fact, everyone loves that idea in April when they are drafted. They hate that idea in October when they want to see the youngster.
Tracy Wolfson’s follow up tweet on Monday about what she had reported in terms of the McCarthy timeline was telling. She wrote:
“Speaking with people inside the building they feel really confident about what they have in JJ. Remember this year was supposed to be last year until he got hurt. A year of growth for a rookie QB, So they are a year behind.”
Wolfson continued to say that, “they know as fans it’s hard to be patient but KOC and the Vikings plan to be [patient because] they believe this is what’s right for the long term.”
You have to ask: What is “this” in her sentence? Does “this” mean him sitting longer than required for his injury? Hm.
Anyway, if that’s how they feel, it’s not a bad thing for McCarthy’s future.
It isn’t just Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love who benefitted from more time in the development phase. It’s former No. 1 pick Alex Smith, who wasn’t good until he was 28, and Ryan Tannehill, whose first QB rating season over 90 was when he was in Year 3 and Eli Manning, who made his first Pro Bowl at age 28.
Again, that’s not what was promised. What Vikings fans were expecting was Brock Purdy, who took his team to the Super Bowl in Year 2. Or Jayden Daniels, who went to the NFC Championship last year as a rookie. Or Jared Goff, who led the No. 1 offense in the NFL in Year 2 and went to the Super Bowl in Year 3.
That was their plan: Build around McCarthy with a sick roster that could help him through tough times.
It can’t be ignored that he got hurt sacked nine times and suffered an injury in his second start. We have seen other QBs like Trey Lance and Anthony Richardson fail to develop because they spent far too much time on the shelf with injuries.
Would it truly be the worst thing for McCarthy to get some of the practice development time that we expected him to have last year? Remember, he is going on the hardened old age of 23 in 2026.
Yes, everyone understands the rookie QB contract advantage at this point. Everyone knows that they have to get the most out of those years. But if they keep playing him this year and he gets hurt or it goes very badly and belief in him wains, then they might never find out what he can be.
It’s a tough spot for KOC and the franchise. If you think that you want McCarthy to work out, imagine how badly O’Connell wants it.
This is the coach that said organizations fail QBs more than QBs fail organizations. O’Connell is going to do everything he can to make that true, whether fans agree with his method or not.
So the only thing that anyone can do right now is wait and see what happens next.
If Wentz plays well, get on another 2024ish/2017ish/2008ish roller coaster and see if this team can make noise in the North. If Wentz doesn’t play well and the switch gets flipped to development time for McCarthy, then we will look for signs that there’s something there for the future.
We won’t know any of the answers today. For now, the Vikings play the Steelers and Wentz is starting. Dare I say: One day at a time, folks.
If Wentz plays well, keep playing him
I've been watching the Vikes since I was a kid in the mid-90s. The Atlanta game was one of the worst overall Vikings performances I can remember. The Bengals game was one of the most complete. If we have the roster now to make a run, it is such a rare opportunity you don't waste it. Not for the fans, and not for the players. JJ is very, very young. He may be the QB who was promised, he may not be, but he needs to earn his spot on the roster just like everyone else. If he's not ready, he's not ready.