J.J. McCarthy injury update: Vikings QB exits to locker room early before halftime

Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy exited Sunday’s game against the New York Giants with an apparent injury just before halftime. Max Brosmer took a knee to end the half, signaling an early venture into the locker room for the second-year QB.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport later reported it was a right hand issue for McCarthy. Being that it’s his throwing hand, that wasn’t the best sign for the Vikings QB. Tom Pelissero then reported McCarthy was ruled out for the game due to his right hand injury.

Leading 13-10 at halftime, the Vikings came into Sunday searching for their seventh win of the season. However, they’ve already been eliminated from playoff contention.

At the half, McCarthy was nine-of-14 passing for 108 yards and one interception. He also had two carries for 20 yards and the Vikings’ lone touchdown of the day.

Coming into the game, McCarthy had a 4-4 record, 1,342 yards, 11 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 56.8% completion percentage. The 22-year old also had 154 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.

Injuries have derailed the start of McCarthy’s career, as he missed his entire rookie year with a torn ACL. At 6-8, the Vikings are 2-4 without McCarthy under center in 2025.

There have been highs and certainly lows with McCarthy, a national champion QB out of Michigan. Even former coach Bruce Arians previously blasted him and his readiness for the league this year.

“The alter-ego thing needs to be AP… accurate passer,” Arians said. “We don’t need snot bubbles and tears. You play quarterback, not linebacker. We don’t need all this hyped up bulls**t. Just go play f*****g quarterback and throw the damn ball to the right guy. You’ve got the talent. Now I go back to his senior year. He threw 35 passes in the fourth quarter of his entire senior year? That’s not NFL ready. Then you miss your rookie year.”

“So (McCarthy’s) had no development as a passer and like mechanically, you can’t think about mechanics in the NFL. You’ve got to be thinking about where the hell I’m going with this ball in two seconds. This things got to go somewhere right there because of this. He’s missing all of that right now. First of all, how the hell do I get back there? How do I read it? Where’s it going and now he’s thinking about where the hell to throw it. That’s a bad combination brother. Really bad.”