After suffering a high ankle sprain last weekend in a 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, young quarterback J.J. McCarthy has progressed enough that he was able to return to the practice field for the Vikings.
Kind of.
Though he wasn’t able to actually participate with his teammates on Friday afternoon at TCO Performance Center, McCarthy stood alongside head coach Kevin O’Connell on the sideline, listening while he delivered the play call to veteran quarterback Carson Wentz in the huddle.
That’s as much as McCarthy will be able to be a part of in the short term.
“He’s handling his responsibilities from a rehab standpoint,” O’Connell said. “We’re kind of through the initial wave of that, as far as getting the swelling down and all those things.”
That’s a step in the right direction for McCarthy after suffering the injury while while being dragged down from behind by linebacker Kaden Elliss on a scramble near the sideline. He finished the game without issue before being diagnosed with a high ankle sprain in the aftermath.
Asked if McCarthy was still wearing a walking boot, O’Connell replied, “I know he was in it on the practice field as a precaution.” In that same breath, O’Connell seemed to indicate that McCarthy had graduated beyond that step when he’s simply walking around the locker room.
When will McCarthy return to the field? That remains to be seen.
Though the Vikings still haven’t provided a timeline for McCarthy’s recovery process, it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s on the shelf for the next month.
After the Vikings host the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend, they will travel to Dublin to play the Pittsburgh Steelers, then to London to play the Cleveland Browns. The bye week will come immediately following the international trip across the pond, then Vikings host the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
The good news for the Vikings is that McCarthy won’t land on injured reserve in the meantime.
“I do feel good about where he’s at in the early stages,” O’Connell said. “I can say I feel pretty strongly as of right now that we’re on the daily kind of work to get healthy and get him back to 100% as soon as we can.”
It remains to be seen if McCarthy will be back under center for the Vikings when they play the Eagles on Oct. 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Briefly
In addition to McCarthy ruled out for the game against the Bengals, the Vikings have also ruled out center Ryan Kelly (concussion) and left tackle Justin Skule (concussion). Meanwhile, left tackle Christian Darrisaw (knee), safety Harrison Smith (illness), edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion), and linebacker Austin Keys (groin) are being listed as questionable.
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