Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy went through his first full practice since Sept. 12 on Wednesday ahead of his return to the starting lineup against the Lions in Detroit on Sunday afternoon.
“I feel like myself again,” said McCarthy, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the Vikings’ loss to Atlanta on Sept. 14. He added in a later answer that “It’s a little bit of a reset,” returning to game action after so much missed time.
McCarthy is on track for his first full week of practice since before the season opener.
As Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell emphasized in recent weeks as McCarthy returned to practice in limited fashion, the 22-year-old did not go through a full traditional week of practice prior to the Week 2 game against the Falcons because of the birth of his son.
Just eight days ago, the Vikings put McCarthy through a workout ahead of the team’s trip to Los Angeles and determined he wasn’t quite ready to play against the Chargers on Thursday night.
McCarthy also worked out on Friday after the team arrived back at TCO Performance Center, and he participated during Monday’s bonus practice session.
“I felt close,” McCarthy said of the workout before the Chargers game. “At the end of the day, it was still a couple things where it felt like my foot was in concrete. You just don’t want to be in that position. ... Not being able to move the way I want to and protect myself was the biggest concern.”