JJ McCarthy’s Recovery Update—Vikings’ Future QB Ready Sooner Than Expected!

LIVE REPORT: Vikings’ QB Dilemma Heats Up—JJ McCarthy’s Breakthrough Changes Everything!

With Super Bowl LIX just days away, the Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 offseason is about to kick into full gear. Soon, teams will start franchise-tagging key players, draft prospects will gather in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine, and before we know it—free agency will be here.

But for the Vikings, one decision looms above all: Who will be QB1?
Will they bring back Sam Darnold, or will they hand the keys to 2024 No. 10 overall pick JJ McCarthy?

JJ McCarthy’s Rehab—Ahead of Schedule!

For weeks, updates on McCarthy’s knee rehab were scarce. But last week, Darren Wolfson (SKOR North, KSTP) dropped a bombshell—those close to McCarthy are 100% confident he will be ready by September.

Then on Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer (Sports Illustrated) followed up, reporting that the Vikings are “really happy” with McCarthy’s progress. But the real scoop came Tuesday on the Rich Eisen Show (NFL Network), where Breer revealed just how far ahead McCarthy truly is.

“[JJ McCarthy] is ahead of schedule. He is able to do just about everything now. The second surgery was really just a cleanup, and he’s going to have a full offseason. So he isn’t going to be limited by anything this offseason.”
— Albert Breer (SI) – Rich Eisen Show

That’s a huge development. Not only is McCarthy cleared for a full offseason, but the Vikings are comfortable with him as their starting quarterback in 2025.

“JJ’s checked a lot of boxes and I can say they’d be comfortable with him as their starting quarterback in 2025. That does not mean they are kicking Sam Darnold out the door, but I do think it gives them a lot more flexibility in the way they handle Sam’s situation.”
— Albert Breer (SI) – Rich Eisen Show

What This Means for Sam Darnold

So, is Darnold out? Not necessarily. The Vikings could still tag him before free agency, but a long-term extension? Unlikely.

Regardless of what happens with Darnold, head coach Kevin O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah can rest easy knowing that their hand-picked franchise QB is not only healthy but also ready to go for OTAs, training camp, and the start of the 2025 season.

Breer did acknowledge that McCarthy lost valuable development time due to his injury. But rather than sit back, the rookie QB attacked his rehab with a laser focus.

McCarthy’s Relentless Preparation

While sidelined, McCarthy made sure he didn’t fall behind.

• Worked with state-of-the-art virtual reality training
• Sat in on every quarterback meeting
• Traveled with the team starting in October
• Wore a headset on game days to stay involved in play-calling

“[JJ McCarthy] did lose 4-5 months of development time, but he was very locked into every part of the football operation that he could be a part of. When they went out to practice, he would do his rehab work. Then all the stuff that was in the building, he was a part of. So he was in the quarterback room pretty much all the way through.”
— Albert Breer (SI) – Rich Eisen Show

And here’s the biggest twist—before his injury in August, McCarthy was already making things difficult for the Vikings’ coaching staff.

“When he got hurt in August, he had played well enough early on in camp to at least complicate the plan to start Sam Darnold and just redshirt him for another year. He played well enough to make it a real discussion point.”
— Albert Breer (SI) – Rich Eisen Show

Is This Now JJ McCarthy’s Team?

At this point, I won’t sit here and tell you that JJ McCarthy will 100% be the Vikings’ starting QB in Week 1. But based on the latest reports, it’s getting harder to imagine a world where Sam Darnold is still QB1 in Minnesota.

This is starting to feel like JJ McCarthy’s team—and 2025 could be the beginning of a new era for the Vikings.