Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy sat out Monday night’s practice after telling the team’s medical staff about soreness in his right knee, according to coach Kevin O’Connell.
O’Connell told reporters the rookie quarterback will undergo more tests on his knee and it is not known whether McCarthy will travel with the team to Cleveland. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reportsThe Vikings are scheduled to participate in joint practices with the Browns before their preseason game on Saturday.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we will continue to evaluate him and do further testing,” O’Connell said. via ESPN.com“He’s a very important player, obviously, so we want to make sure we’re smart before he gets involved, making sure we have a good understanding of where he’s at.”
McCarthy was expected to get more reps with the first-team offense in practice this week after playing well in Minnesota’s preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns and ran twice for 18 yards. McCarthy was scheduled to play 30 snaps and was pulled from the game after reaching that number.
There’s no indication whether McCarthy hurt his knee during the game. O’Connell says he could have continued playing against the Raiders and believes McCarthy’s knee pain is routine soreness after seeing his first preseason action. According to The Athletic.
“We’re trying to figure out when it happened, but it came with a typical pain that a lot of players have after their first preseason game,” O’Connell said. “It was something we wanted to address in a smart way.”
In addition to starter Sam Darnold and McCarthy, the Vikings also have quarterbacks Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall in camp.