The question of whether McCarthy returns as the starting quarterback Sunday against Philadelphia or Carson Wentz remains at the helm was left unanswered formally Wednesday by coach Kevin O’Connell, but this week’s message about how much McCarthy has to work on mechanically has spoken quite loudly about the team’s preference for carefully facilitating him.
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McCarthy, for his part, said in his first interview with reporters since spraining his right ankle at the end of a fight while being tackled on the sideline in the second game of the season that he is still not back to 100%.
He is still within the initial return schedule, between two and six weeks, that he was given after the injury.
“It’s unfortunate and one of those really annoying injuries,” McCarthy said, “but I’m still working to get to 100% as quickly as possible.”
O’Connell, who spent most of the bye week working with his protégé on basic passing mechanics that the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft simply hasn’t had enough time to perfect due to his injuries, said that both McCarthy and Wentz would take turns with the first-team offense in practice.
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“I think the biggest thing is getting back in uniform on the field, getting some real pass rush reps and dropping and applying some of the things he’s worked really hard on,” O’Connell said. “I’m having a lot of fun training him.”
If that sounds a bit like an offseason update, it’s because McCarthy has practiced and played so little over the last year and a half since he was drafted that O’Connell, quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and the rest of the staff are still in that teaching mode in many ways.
“Everyone in this position and in other positions and in other professions, they are always working to perfect that part of their craft, the fundamentals, the basics,” McCarthy said. “So it was awesome to get back on the field and spin it, but get that wisdom and advice from those guys.”
The Vikings have consistently insisted they are not using the injury as a reason to give McCarthy more time to watch and learn from O’Connell, McCown and Wentz. While they’ll need to evaluate sooner rather than later whether McCarthy is truly the franchise quarterback they want to commit to beyond the cap-friendly rookie contract, there’s no point in evaluating his performance if he can’t adequately push off his right foot.
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“This is a real, unique injury where sometimes the hardest part is that level of confidence to get to that final stage of game-like movements and feelings,” O’Connell said.
Wentz, who is on his sixth team in six seasons and in his 10th year in the league, downplayed the idea of any discomfort or uncertainty for him as McCarthy finds himself in the middle stage between being injured and starting.
“That’s the cool thing about it, having played both roles in my career so far,” Wentz said. “I have what works for me and what prepares me to play, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
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