Given J.J. McCarthy's intense offseason and minicamp workload, how are the Vikings strategically balancing the crucial need for throwing repetitions with the potential risk of arm fatigue as he prepares for the season and perhaps as the season itself gets intense?
— Steve Tarnowski in Duluth, Minnesota
The Vikings have trackers in their practice jerseys that log players' metrics to monitor and evaluate — and hopefully prevent overuse, particularly when it comes to footsteps/running, but they also chart passes and can modify practice scripts if they feel it is necessary to do so.
McCarthy handled plenty of reps to get his work in the offseason program, but Minnesota also rotated through quarterbacks Sam Howell, Brett Rypien and Max Brosmer.
It's quite common for teams to have four quarterbacks when the roster expands to 90 or 91 to help avoid arm fatigue and continue to develop QBs.
If you haven't checked out this interview by VEN's Tatum Everett with quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, it's worth a watch. See above.
Every game can be different, but I don't know that Minnesota plans on having McCarthy throw 40-plus times a game in the season, not so much to avoid fatigue but because of philosophy.
A recent comment from Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels regarding kicker Will Reichard related to player load management. Reichard had a solid rookie season but dealt with a quad injury along the way.
"Having a rookie kicker last year, a guy who played into the [college] playoffs, went to the Senior Bowl, went to the combine, and then he had a pro day," Daniels said. "This guy basically played 11 straight months of football without a break. "We have to find a way to truly, kind of taper down the workouts, how many times [he is] kicking a week. Obviously having a quad injury that took place right around the middle of the season, and that was probably due to over kicking, over exertion, really, because of how much he did in January, February and March."