The Minnesota Vikings are taking on the Green Bay Packers to end their regular season, but the season may have ended slightly early for quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
He checked himself out of the game in the third quarter and looked to be favoring his hand. McCarthy picked up his hand injury in Week 16 against the New York Giants and played through it.
It remains unclear what caused McCarthy to check himself out of the game, but he left the field shaking his head toward his head coach, so presumably his day and season are done.
Here are the latest injury updates for McCarthy in Week 18 against the Packers.
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J.J. McCarthy injury updates
McCarthy checked himself out of the game in the third quarter. He looked to be favoring his hand and backup quarterback Max Brosmer came into the game.
The Vikings announced that McCarthy is questionable to return to the game.
J.J. McCarthy (right hand) is questionable to return.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 4, 2026
Given that it is the final game of the regular season and the Vikings have been eliminated from playoff contention, this could be the end to McCarthy's first active season in the NFL.
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What happened to J.J. McCarthy?
McCarthy suffered a hand injury in the Week 16 win over the Giants. The injury caused him to miss the Week 17 win over the Detroit Lions, but he was active for the start of the season finale against Green Bay. McCarthy even had a big run in the first quarter where he lowered his shoulder into contact and then was whistled after taunting his opponent.
JJ McCarthy 😭pic.twitter.com/XjAgkEKak6
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) January 4, 2026
McCarthy may have landed on his hand weirdly or hit it on a defender's helmet. Regardless, he took himself out of the game and shook his head, leaving the field in the third quarter.
JJ McCarthy takes himself out of the game.
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) January 4, 2026
He has been dealing with a hand injury, he said he couldn’t do it 🤯 pic.twitter.com/9GwDxR0aXJ
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Vikings QB depth chart
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | J.J. McCarthy — QUES |
| 2 | Max Brosmer |
| 3 | Brett Rypien |
McCarthy's day is likely done and Brosmer took over for him. Brosmer is a rookie out of Minnesota. With the several injuries that McCarthy has dealt with this season, Brosmer had seen action in seven games heading into Week 18 against the Packers. He struggled to adjust quickly to the NFL and entered the final game of the season with 271 passing yards and four interceptions. Brosmer is still searching for his first career touchdown pass.
Rypien was serving as the emergency third quarterback. He will now only enter the game if Brosmer gets hurt.