Analyst suggests Vikings are hiding behind JJ McCarthy’s injury to protect him, ‘ruled out on a Monday?’

Kevin O’Connell may be protecting JJ McCarthy with latest injury update

The Vikings announced that JJ McCarthy was dealing with a high ankle sprain and that they were ruling him out for this coming Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

According to reports, the injury could cost McCarthy 2-4 weeks, meaning backup quarterback Carson Wentz will be the starter, having only signed days before the 2025 season began.

The news raises the point that the Vikings may have mishandled the quarterback position during the offseason, leaving it a little too late to find a suitable backup.

After Sunday’s showing against the Atlanta Falcons, some believe head coach Kevin O’Connell is protecting McCarthy, both from the media and from his offensive line.

Fantasy analyst Hayden Winks took to X and said:

“Suspicion the Vikings are hiding behind injury. This is JJ McCarthy on the 2nd-to-last play. Looks to be moving well. Not touched on the last play either. Ruled on a Monday? Really??”

He suggested the Vikings quarterback was running just fine at the very end of Sunday night’s game against the Falcons, but now has an injury that has already ruled him out for the coming weekend.

Winks wasn’t suggesting that McCarthy had necessarily been benched, but rather that he needed protecting from the offensive line that struggled to block out the Falcons’ rush over the weekend.

The Vikings gave up five first-half sacks and six in total in the game, and McCarthy was under duress for all four quarters. O’Connell’s team spent a lot of free agency money and draft capital to rebuild their offensive line during the offseason, but they are having growing pains as a unit so far this year.

Another fan said:

“Vikings already ruling out JJ McCarthy with an ankle sprain while Jayden Daniels remains uncertain to play with a knee sprain is at least a little bit of an eyebrow raiser.”

Vikings may be taking a couple of weeks to reset

It is an early decision to rule McCarthy out, but it means he likely won’t speak to the media all week, and the conversation switches to Carson Wentz.

The second-year quarterback’s fourth-quarter comeback against the Chicago Bears was great, but it did cover up for his poor performance in the rest of the game. The Week 2 matchup against the Falcons was more of the same, and the defense was keying in on one of his flaws, resulting in two interceptions.

Taking McCarthy out of the lineup for a couple of weeks allows O’Connell to hit pause and coach him up a little, reviewing the film from his first two starts and making adjustments where necessary.

The Vikings have three more games before their Week 6 bye week, which could also come into play.

The injury might be legitimate, but there could be more to the story.