When the Minnesota Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy in the first round of the 2024 draft, Minnesota had high hopes for their new quarterback.
However, McCarthy's NFL career was abruptly delayed, as he had to miss the entire 2024 season due to an injury. While the Vikings still won 14 games without him, McCarthy kept his hold on being the Vikings' franchise quarterback.
Now, McCarthy has a chance to prove his team right, especially after the Vikings stuck with him through a long and arduous rehab. Here's a look at how McCarthy's injury delayed his NFL debut.
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Why did J.J. McCarthy miss 2024 season?
In August of 2024, McCarthy suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee that required surgery. The long recovery timetable for the meniscus surgery meant that McCarthy was forced to miss the entire 2024 season.
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J.J. McCarthy injury details
McCarthy suffered the torn meniscus in his first 2024 preseason game against the Raiders, although he didn't think it was serious at first.
"I thought it was a bruise," McCarthy said, via NFL.com." I thought at most it could've been a strain somewhere. But when they told me it's a pretty serious tear, yeah, I was taken away by that."
The injury required doctors to operate on McCarthy's knee to determine the severity. In the end, they decided the meniscus needed a full repair instead of a trim, forcing McCarthy to miss the season.
McCarthy mentioned he had a "medial and radial" meniscus tear that required him to stay off his knee for six weeks before diving into rehab.
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J.J. McCarthy injury timeline
Torn meniscus
McCarthy first suffered the knee injury on August 10 against the Las Vegas Raiders in what was his first NFL action. He was able to finish his portion of the game, but was later evaluated by the medical staff the next day when he knee experienced swelling.
First surgery
On August 14, doctors performed surgery on McCarthy to further understand how bad the injury was. While it was possible that McCarthy could've returned in 2024 if he just needed a meniscus trim, doctors decided to do a full repair of the ligament, which shut McCarthy down for the year.
Follow-up procedure
On November 13, the Vikings announced that McCarthy underwent a follow-up minor, nonsurgicial procedure on his right knee. Head coach Kevin O'Connell said it occurred after McCarthy's knee swelled up during rehab.
"We know he had what I would consider an extensive injury in training camp; he's really knocked it out of the park every step of the way," O'Connell said. "And as his rehab has picked up, we noticed a little swelling in there, and just with the time that we do have, he's been doing everything we've asked of him, and improving, getting stronger, all those things. But just wanted to make sure that there was no cause for concern, and all reports were very positive."
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Offseason recovery
McCarthy spent the entire offseason recovering from the injury, and he said his surgery went incredibly well.
"I honestly feel, physically, bigger, faster [and] stronger," McCarthy said in May.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell added that McCarthy worked extremely hard in the offseason to get back on the field.
"There's been a lot of lonely hours where it's him and the training staff and the strength staff, and just the work he's put in to get his body where he's at, his arm feeling the way it is, and then of course, coming off the injury, his lower body feeling as good as it does to move the way he's doing," O'Connell said.
Fully cleared
McCarthy was officially cleared for football activities at the start of mandatory minicamp on June 2, allowing him to go into training camp with no restrictions.
#Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy said he received full clearance from the team’s medical staff after the Vikings’ player physicals at the start of mandatory minicamp. He’s been participating all offseason, and he hasn’t felt his surgically-repaired knee at all, he said. pic.twitter.com/C6f8nVXmJm
— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) June 12, 2025
Preseason return
On August 9, McCarthy made his return to an NFL game at home against the Houston Texans. He only played in one drive, completing four passes for 30 yards, before the Vikings sat him for the game and the rest of the preseason.
3rd down find 3️⃣@jjmccarthy09
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 9, 2025
📺: @FOX9 | @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/ZzSJa4Mfib
Names starter
Once Sam Darnold left in free agency, and the Vikings didn't bring in a replacement, it was clear that McCarthy as going to be the team's starter for 2025. However, O'Connell didn't officially name McCarthy the starter, but there were no questions the second-year player would start once he was named one of the captains.
Week 1 debut at Bears
Over 16 months after he was drafted by the Vikings in the first round, McCarthy will make his NFL debut on September 8 against the Chicago Bears in Chicago. The game, which will be on ESPN for "Monday Night Football," is a big one as the two teams vie for positioning in the NFC North.