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Newsstand: J.J. McCarthy goes off in preseason NFL debut

Anthony Broomeby: Anthony Broome08/11/24anthonytbroome
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Former Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy made his NFL debut on Saturday with the Minnesota Vikings, shining after an early mistake in a 24-23 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

McCarthy finished the day 11-for-17 for 188 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. The touchdown passes were long tosses to Trishton Jackson from 45 yards out and a 33-yard toss to Trent Sherfield.

McCarthy is currently No. 2 on the depth chart to Sam Darnold, who is expected to start the season for the Vikings despite the quarterback battle.

Could it change the former Michigan passer’s candidacy for the job? Yahoo’s Frank Schwab weighed in:

The problem for McCarthy wasn’t his overall performance or even that bad interception he had right away, when he telegraphed a pass that cornerback Jack Jones broke on and picked off. It’s that Sam Darnold didn’t do much to lose the job. The Vikings have maintained that they’d like McCarthy to sit and learn behind Darnold for a while, and Darnold was solid Saturday in his limited action.

Darnold made some confident throws on his first drive. He looked comfortable in the pocket and moved the Vikings down inside the Raiders’ 5-yard line. But he threw incomplete on third and fourth downs, which put a damper on an otherwise decent outing. He completed 4 of 8 passes for 59 yards on his lone drive and looked capable.

McCarthy and the Vikings will play the Cleveland Browns in preseason game No. 2 on Aug. 17.

Tweets of the day

Michigan quote of the day

“Momentum is back on Michigan’s side. The Wolverines landed three 2025 commits in July. However, Michigan lost one of those verbal pledges as three-star wide receiver Phillip Wright essentially flipped to LSU. The Wolverines are back in the win column after landing Sanders, who was the staff’s top priority at the corner position. Michigan can keep things rolling this month as five-star offensive lineman Andrew Babalola and Top 100 wide receiver Andrew Marsh, a heavy U-M lean, are set to decide soon.”

– The Wolverine’s EJ Holland on Michigan football’s recruiting momentum after the commitment of Jayden Sanders

Headlines of the day

Michigan fall camp: Five players generating buzz this week
Michigan lands commitment from On300 CB Jayden Sanders
Commit Impact: What landing On300 CB Jayden Sanders means for Michigan
Dusty May’s recruiting strategy has already paid dividends, and the momentum’s not fading
Michigan mailbag: QB battle so far, plan for Jadyn Davis, more