EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings plan to play quarterback J.J. McCarthy in their preseason opener Saturday against the Houston Texans, coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday.
The outing will bring McCarthy full circle after he suffered a right knee injury in the Vikings’ first game of the 2024 preseason, making him the first quarterback selected in the first round in the modern draft era to miss his entire rookie season because of injury. He entered training camp this summer atop the depth chart and has taken every practice snap with the first team.
O’Connell did not reveal how long McCarthy will play or whether there are plans for future preseason appearances, saying he had not yet spoken with the team about it. Last season, starter Sam Darnold played one series of the first preseason game and then sat out the next two games. It’s unlikely that McCarthy will play in the Vikings’ second preseason game, Aug. 16 against the New England Patriots, because the teams will have two days of joint practices before it.
“You’d love to play him as much as possible,” O’Connell said, “but I think with those two days of joint practice [with the Patriots], and the type of reps that the other guys on the offense will get from a physicality and workload standpoint, we’ll more than likely use those two days as our real days. Obviously, that’s subject to change based upon on how those go, how we feel coming out of those. If we need to get a little more work, we will. Then we’ll assess that final preseason game as it comes.”
The majority of the Vikings’ preseason reps are likely to be taken by veterans Sam Howell and Brett Rypien, along with rookie Max Brosmer.
