Inside The Vikings

This kind of thing always seems to happen to the Vikings, doesn't it?

The J.J. McCarthy injury is just the latest example of the Vikings' history of misfortune.

Will Ragatz

Dec 24, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans react during the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 24, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans react during the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
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There's no other way to put it: The J.J. McCarthy news is just very...Vikings.

On Saturday, fans were riding high after watching the highest-drafted quarterback in franchise history throw for 188 yards and two touchdowns in an impressive preseason debut. Two days later, head coach Kevin O'Connell announced that McCarthy had knee soreness and would miss practice that night. That was immediately concerning.

On Tuesday, fears became reality when O'Connell revealed that McCarthy will need surgery for a meniscus tear in his right knee. That means he'll be out for around 3-6 weeks or 4-6 months, depending on which procedure is chosen. Either way, it's a brutal and deflating blow to fans who were fired up by their first look at the QB of the future in game action.

This is nothing new for the Vikings, whose history is littered with heartbreak and misfortune, both on and off the field. The gut-punches usually come right when things are looking up, like Gary Anderson's missed field goal or Brett Favre's interception on the brink of Super Bowl appearances.

McCarthy is the latest in a line of recent Vikings quarterbacks to get hurt while optimism was swelling. In 2016, Teddy Bridgewater was coming off a Pro Bowl appearance and looking to take another leap in his third season. On August 30, less than two weeks before the season, he suffered a gruesome non-contact injury to his knee. He would never complete another pass for the Vikings.

To replace Bridgewater, the Vikings traded for Sam Bradford, who had a solid first season in Minnesota. Bradford looked set for a huge 2017 campaign when he shredded the Saints in the opener, but recurring knee issues popped up the following week and he played just four more games in his career. (You've probably heard about the ultimate gut-punch that happened in the NFC title game later that season, one week after the Minneapolis Miracle).

Last year, in his sixth season with the Vikings, Kirk Cousins was playing some of the best football of his career through the first couple months. The Vikings had just upset the 49ers and were on their way to a third consecutive win, leading the Packers by two scores at Lambeau Field, when Cousins planted and tore his Achilles. That turned out to be his last snap with the franchise.

That brings us to this year and the injury to McCarthy, who the Vikings drafted 10th overall to be Cousins' long-term replacement. The 21-year-old could certainly have a bright future ahead of him, but this is an all-too-familiar feeling for fans in Minnesota at the moment.

Even in just the last five weeks, the vibes around the Vikings' season have come crashing down. The offseason was filled with optimism as the team entered the post-Cousins era, only for tragedy and misfortune to strike again and again.

Khyree Jackson, the rookie cornerback drafted in the fourth round in April, was one of three people killed in a car crash in Maryland. A week later, wide receiver Jordan Addison was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Los Angeles. Then, during the first training camp practice, cornerback Mekhi Blackmon suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

Someday, in theory, the Vikings' fortunes will change. Their loyal fans have been waiting for that day for a long time.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

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