There aren't many things more difficult in professional sports than being a quarterback in the NFL. In fact, many consider it the most challenging thing to do.
For former Michigan standout and current Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, things haven't exactly gone as planned throughout his first two weeks in the NFL. He dealt with an injury last year, but started in the first two games of this season.
Reports have now indicated that he's dealing with an ankle injury and could be out for the next few weeks.
J.J. McCarthy gets major backing
Regardless of his injury, McCarthy needs to be a bit better, and it's only fair that he understands that. He's thrown for just 301 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, and has a 20.4 QBR.
Things haven't been pretty for the Vikings, either, sitting at 1-1 after a brutal loss against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night. While the Vikings want to play better, and the team understands that it has to moving forward, veteran Adam Thielen had some promising words for McCarthy.
“I told him on the sidelines at the end of the game, we started 5-0 and missed the playoffs, we started 1-2 and went to the NFC championship game. A Week 2 loss doesn’t derail who you are as a football team,” Thielen said, per Heavy’s Trevor Squire.
Understanding that the NFL is a long season is something that McCarthy will have to deal with. If he had lost a game or two at Michigan, his year would’ve been over due to the college football playoffs.
In the NFL, there will be highs, lows, and everything in between. He'll have to get used to that, which is much easier said than done in some instances.
“He’s built for that, that’s why they fell in love with him during the draft process,” Thielen said of McCarthy handling adversity. “He’s legitimately built for that. It’s going to be a process like every year. You just keep going to work and keep learning… keep building every single week.”