J.J. McCarthy, Vikings hit 'reset button' at QB while Carson Wentz preps for season-ending surgery

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — As J.J. McCarthy worked toward completion of his recovery from a severely sprained ankle, Carson Wentz was enduring even more agony with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.

The quarterback situation, the most conspicuous part of this unexpectedly frustrating and painful season for the Minnesota Vikings, might finally be settling into place again.

“There’s a reset button, essentially, just being six weeks down,” said McCarthy, who was cleared after a five-game absence to return as the starter Sunday when the Vikings play at the Detroit Lions. “I feel like there’s a lot I learned just about playing the game of football at the next level. This is my second year. I’m still learning so much, and all that time is not time that’s wasted.”

The Vikings are banking on that, because the knee surgery that kept McCarthy out of his entire rookie season and the ankle sprain this year have sidelined him for 23 of a possible 25 games in his career.

Coach Kevin O'Connell recently re-watched with McCarthy his first two games, with a special attention to the fundamentals the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft has lacked time to sharpen because of his injuries.

“I took just the simple things and how it really affects the outcome of each play and affects the momentum of the drives that we’re trying to continue to have," McCarthy said.

McCarthy spoke to reporters Wednesday after practice, about 3 1/2 hours after Wentz held an interview session to discuss the torn labrum he'll soon have season-ending surgery on.

After grinding through 2 1/2 games with the injury, which included a broken socket caused by a dislocation from a hard hit Oct. 5 by a Cleveland Browns defender in London, Wentz said he knew during last week's 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that the procedure was inevitable.

O'Connell has taken some heat in the NFL's ubiquitous opinion section over the air and online for not pulling an obviously hurting Wentz earlier from that blowout. But both the coach and the quarterback reiterated Wednesday that the medical staff was certain that Wentz continuing to play didn't risk further structural damage, only increasing discomfort.

“This isn’t my first rodeo. I’m not an idiot. I know what I was signing up for, going out there. Nobody was forcing me, pressuring me, any of those things,” said Wentz, who joined the Vikings two months ago and extended his NFL record by making a start for his sixth team in six seasons. “The communication has been phenomenal from coaches, trainers, all the things, and so we knew what we were doing all along.”

Wentz's wife is expecting a baby this week — the couple's fourth daughter — so there's a lot more going on for him than the premature end of his 10th season. He said the recovery timetable for the surgery is about four months and that he's planning to play next year.

“I can't say enough about his desire to compete and play and try to take advantage of the opportunity that he had to help us win,” O'Connell said.

McCarthy said he had a hard time waiting to get back on the field but acknowledged his mobility wasn't fully there during his workout last week that told the Vikings he wasn't yet ready to play against the Chargers.

“I was just listening to my trainers and coach O’Connell and obeying orders at the end of the day, but I think it was the smartest thing possible,” McCarthy said.

Now, he said, he feels great.

“I feel like it was just the allotted amount of time to where I feel like I can do everything on the football field, pain-free. A little bit of limitations here and there, but that’s how high ankles work,” he said. “I’m going to be feeling this thing for a little bit here from here on out.”

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