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Kevin Seifert
Los Angeles – The minnesota vikings The path seems to be clear JJ McCarthy To return as their starting quarterback the following week after a six-week recovery from a right ankle sprain.
McCarthy has served as the Vikings’ emergency third quarterback for two consecutive games, including Thursday night lost 37-10 till los angeles chargersLater, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell Reaffirmed his commitment to getting McCarthy back on the field as soon as possible.
“If JJ is healthy, JJ is going to play,” O’Connell said. “That’s been the situation since the injury. That’s always been my mentality, and I believe we’re right – hopefully – to see him get healthy, take a week of preparation and go compete.”
McCarthy started the Vikings’ first two games of the season, but complained of severe pain in his right ankle the morning after the 22–6 loss. atlanta falcons On September 14, O’Connell initially classified McCarthy’s condition as “weeks-to-weeks” and McCarthy later said he had received a timetable of up to six weeks for a full recovery. The Vikings had him in for a workout at their practice facility on Tuesday to see if playing against the Chargers was an option, but O’Connell said: “JJ and the medical staff didn’t feel at all like he was there yet.”
With a “mini-bye” this weekend and then additional practices scheduled for Monday, the Vikings will give McCarthy a perfect runway to get back into the starting role for the November 2 game. detroit lions,
backup carson wentz He has started five games in McCarthy’s place, posting a 2-3 record, but is playing with a serious left shoulder injury that apparently bothered him Thursday night. He said it was “probably” the most pain he had experienced during a football game, and attributed it primarily to his short recovery time due to the Thursday night game.
The Vikings’ medical staff fitted him with a shoulder harness and various other protective coverings, which Wentz said he had never worn “anything remotely close to” while playing. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 144 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He took five sacks and was hit eight times. After being injured on a fourth-down incompletion in the fourth quarter, Wentz threw his helmet on the bench – for which he later apologized to the team’s equipment staff – and covered his face with a towel.
“Pain is pain,” Wentz said. “I felt like I could still help this team and find a way to go down and score. So we knew coming into the game, that was going to be a part of it. And again, that’s the tough part of the Thursday night game. [You] Just don’t get a chance to heal, but that’s not an excuse by any means.”
O’Connell said he was in constant conversation with Wentz and the team’s medical staff, but he never thought he needed to change until the game was out of his reach. With McCarthy designated the emergency quarterback, the first available option by rule would have been an undrafted rookie. max brosmer,
Brosmer did not enter the game until 1 minute 56 seconds remained.
“Carson is an experienced player,” O’Connell said, “and he understands some of the circumstances we had tonight. I think it’s very difficult to ask a rookie to go out there for his first performance and it’s a little bit tough for the group to endure.”
