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After missing several games due to an ankle injury, the Minnesota Vikings are expected to have J.J. McCarthy back under center. Moreover, his arrival comes at the right time, considering Carson Wentz’s 2025 NFL season is done due to a shoulder injury. Whether Minnesota can bounce back with a Week 9 win over the Detroit Lions and push for the playoffs in the NFC remains to be seen. Nonetheless, the Vikings will hope that McCarthy can stay healthy for the remainder of the season to see what they have in the player. Ahead of the second-year quarterback’s return against the Lions, wideout Justin Jefferson spoke with the media on October 30 to discuss what it’s like having the young signal caller back as QB1. “Looks good,” Jefferson told reporters. “Just going through the plays, going through the motions, dialing up the connection, and, of course, expanding the relationship that we have out there on the field. So it’s been great. I feel like he has the confidence to go out there and do what we expect him to do. “It’s just all about having that energy and thinking about one play at a time—not thinking about the big play, making the best play of the game, or being perfect throughout the game. It’s just all about taking one play at a time, leaning on everybody in the offense to go to work, and just lead us. And that’s pretty much the main message to him.” Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Talks J.J. McCarthy’s Return Along with Jefferson’s remarks about the Michigan product’s return, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell offered his perspective on McCarthy’s current mindset. “J.J. is in a good spot,” O’Connell told KFAN’s Paul Allen. “He had some really good work [on October 27] and should get a full week of preparation. He finally feels truly ready to go be himself—not just in his ability to function at the position, but also in the things J.J. “McCarthy can bring to our offense: his mobility and his ability to protect himself, which comes from playing with great timing and rhythm from the pocket. He also has the ability to create and do some things off the schedule of the play.” Can J.J. McCarthy Help the Vikings Reach the Playoffs? Despite McCarthy’s return for the game against the Lions, one NFL expert doesn’t believe this will boost their playoff chances. CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson said he isn’t confident about the team’s position at the season’s midpoint. “This ain’t where you want to be at the midway point of the season,“ Wilson said on the October 27 edition of “CBS Sports HQ.” “No doubt about it. And again, last year this time, we were having conversations about Sam Darnold as the MVP, which is sort of funny to say, but he played that well. That team played that well. “The other thing to keep in mind is that the Brian Flores defense hasn’t looked quite like the Brian Flores defense we saw a year ago. They’ve been exposed at times, most recently on Thursday night, where we saw the offensive line, which has also struggled with injuries. We saw Carson Wentz take another beating that led to him landing on IR. “But you compound the issues with the offensive line struggling to stay healthy and then the defense not playing at the level that it played at a year ago. And you take that all together with a young and/or rookie quarterback, should Max Brosmer have to play. And this is where you find yourself, and there’s very little room for error.”
