Paraphrase MINNEAPOLIS — In one of his most extensive media appearances since being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, quarterback J.J. McCarthy said he’s ready to compete for the starting job in Minnesota.
Appearing on “The Rich Eisen Show,” McCarthy said it’s “very fair” to say he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery from a torn meniscus suffered last summer.
“Couldn’t be in a better spot, honestly,” McCarthy said. “Mentally, physically, spiritually.”
The 22-year-old McCarthy impressed in his preseason debut last August, but the injury waylaid any hopes of seizing the starting QB position from Sam Darnold. Darnold, who will be a free agent in March, played impressively for much of the season. McCarthy said he learned a lot from watching the veteran.
“Mostly just how he handles success. For me, it was more the observation of it and just witnessing how he was the same guy every single day. He had this beautiful ability to really not care too much and not care too little,” McCarthy said. “He had a great ability to just keep the main thing the main thing and just focused on attacking each day. And he played really well this year so it was really awesome to witness that.”
Still, McCarthy admits he would’ve preferred to be on the field with the Vikings offense.
“It’s been really hard if I’m going to be straight up,” he said. “Being a part of but somewhat not a part of — being on [injured reserve] — that beautiful season that Minnesota had last year and that we had.”
While he couldn’t take live reps, McCarthy said he spent a lot of the season preparing as any other quarterback would and trying to get ahead of the curve on things like opponent scouting.
“I was definitely a part of a lot of the preps and just being able to sit in on those Saturday QB meetings,” he said. “Something that I really pinpoint is those meetings specifically, just [head coach Kevin O’Connell] talking about the offense, talking about the gameplan for that week, what he likes, what he doesn’t like and most importantly the why behind it.”
We’ll find out soon what the future holds for Darnold, which will be the domino that determines McCarthy’s future as well. Right now, he’s just hoping for a shot.
“All I can ask for is a fair opportunity. That’s the one thing that I feel like everybody’s given and it’s fundamental,” he said. “When money gets involved, things get complicated and reps get skewed and there’s different things that come into the whole political world that everyone talks about. But I really just have to focus on controlling what I can control. My feelings don’t matter. I’m not getting any grace, there’s no sympathy. This is the big leagues
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