Vikings QB whose rookie year was wiped out by a torn meniscus, now entering his real first NFL season.
J.J. McCarthy tore his meniscus in the 2024 preseason and missed his entire rookie year. The 2025 sophomore season was the actual NFL debut and the results were mixed: 11 starts, two playoff appearances, an early injury that bumped him for veteran Daniel Jones. Year three under Kevin O'Connell is the real test.
Path to the league
Michigan quarterback who won the 2023 CFP National Championship and went 27-1 as a starter in his college career. Vikings took him 10th overall in 2024. Suffered a torn meniscus in his first preseason game and never appeared in a 2024 regular-season game.
Career highlights
2023 College Football Playoff National Champion (Michigan). 27-1 college record as a starter. Captain at Michigan three seasons. Highest career college winning percentage of any QB in the past 20 years (.964).
2025 season recap
Started Week 1 then missed three games with a high ankle sprain. Returned to lead Minnesota to a 9-8 record and a Wild Card berth. Final line: 2,840 passing yards, 19 TDs, 9 INTs across 11 games. Beat the Bears in primetime in Week 14 with a 4-TD performance. Looks more comfortable now that the Jefferson-Addison-Hockenson trio is healthy again.
Sources
- Wikipedia: J. J. McCarthy
- Pro Football Reference: J.J. McCarthy
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Passing
10 games played▶Passing · career
| Year | Team | GP | CMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | RTG | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | vikings | 10 | 140 | 243 | 1,632 | 11 | 12 | 72.6 | 35.6 |
▶Rushing · career
| Year | Team | GP | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | vikings | 10 | 37 | 181 | 4.9 | 4 | 26 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Quarterback
- Group
- offense
- College
- Michigan
- Hometown
- La Grange Park, IL, USA
- Age
- 23
- Status
- active
Latest news about J.J. McCarthy
All news →AI Predicts Every Week 4 Game of the 2026 NFL Season
Week 3 went 10 of 16, but the high-confidence picks split 3-3, so the model is more cautious this week: four High picks instead of six, led by Buffalo over New England, with Chiefs at Raiders the game of the week.
Giants Trade for J.J. McCarthy After Losing Jaxson Dart for the Regular Season
New York sends a 2027 fifth-round pick to Minnesota for the 10th overall pick of the 2024 draft, pending a physical. Jameis Winston is still scheduled to start Sunday against Arizona.
Giants' Jaxson Dart Has Knee Surgery, Out for the Rest of the Regular Season
Update: Dart had surgery on his left knee and is out for at least the rest of the regular season, a far worse outcome than the initial reports of a sprain. The Giants traded for J.J. McCarthy on Sept. 28.
Kyler Murray Suffers Concussion 11 Plays Into Vikings Debut; Wentz Leads 39-22 Comeback
Murray was ruled out in the first quarter after a late hit on a slide drew an unnecessary-roughness flag on Javon Bullard. Carson Wentz threw three touchdowns as Minnesota scored 29 straight points to beat Green Bay.
Giants Release Odell Beckham Jr. After Three Games and No Catches
Update: the Giants released Beckham on Sept. 29 after he played 20 snaps in three games without a catch. He has not announced a retirement and is reported to want another opportunity.
Correction: Vikings' J.J. McCarthy Has an Ankle Sprain, Not a Season-Ending Injury
An earlier version of this story reported that McCarthy had torn his meniscus and would miss the season. That was wrong. Coach Kevin O'Connell described the injury as a mild deltoid sprain in his ankle, and McCarthy has since returned to full practice.
