Former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy suffered his first loss in more than two years on Sunday night and is now expected to miss time because of injury.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday that McCarthy suffered an ankle sprain in the team’s 22-6 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
“J.J. did come in very, very sore today with the ankle sprain,” O’Connell said. “I would anticipate we are not planning on having him for Sunday, and don’t likely see this being any kind of short-term IR thing, but I do want to see see how he responds to treatment this week. But give him a ton of credit, just the toughness to get that thing taped up and keep playing.
“But yeah, that is something that we were able to determine today. So obviously, tough news there.”
O’Connell said he believes the injury occurred on a McCarthy’s 16-yard scramble late in the third quarter, but the 2024 No. 10 overall pick had it taped up after the drive and played the remainder of the game.
Overall, it was tough night for the Vikings’ offense, who managed just 198 yards and didn’t find the end zone. McCarthy, making his second career start after missing his rookie season with a knee injury, finished 11 of 21 passing for 158 yards and two interceptions. It was McCarthy’s first loss since the 2022 College Football Playoff semifinal against TCU.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the former five-star recruit is expected to miss two-to-four weeks. Veteran Carson Wentz, on his sixth team in the past six season, will start in his place.
The Vikings also are expected to be without No. 1 running back Aaron Jones against the Bengals on Sunday. He suffered a hamstring injury against the Falcons.
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