ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler: JJ McCarthy becoming ‘a lot stronger’ as off-season workouts rage on

As off-season workouts rage on, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler provided an update on JJ McCarthy. The second-year quarterback will be the starter in 2025 for the Vikings, and he’s looking to rebound from a serious knee injury that ruined his rookie season.

According to Fowler, the former Michigan star is progressing at a positive pace. Minnesota feels as if McCarthy is regaining the strength and then some in his knee, and he can lead them to the promised land when the time comes. That’s part of why they didn’t have an interest in Aaron Rodgers.

“The Vikings feel like JJ McCarthy, in Day 9 of these off-season workouts, is a lot stronger than Day 1,” Fowler stated, via SportsCenter. “Coming off that knee issue, they knew he could start a little slow, but they like the way he’s throwing the ball. They feel very comfortable with where he’s at going into training camp.

“They didn’t sign Rodgers and went with McCarthy because they believe in their three-year plan — a young quarterback they like on a rookie scale. So, they’ll be aggressive on the roster without him. They believe they can win a Super Bowl in the next three years.”

It’s easy to see why the Vikings have immense confidence in their quarterback. While at Michigan, McCarthy ended his career with a national title with the Wolverines in 2023-24. He had 6,226 yards, 49 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 67.6% completion percentage in his career.

Now, McCarthy will have a ton of weapons to lean on during his sophomore season, including Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison at wide receiver. That would make any quarterback confident.

“I feel like it’s more of for the [quarterbacks] than for me,” Jefferson said of building a rapport with McCarthy, via ESPN. “I mean, it really doesn’t matter who’s throwing the ball. As soon as the ball gets close to my face, I’m going to try to catch it. It doesn’t matter how fast the ball is going, the spin of it, or if it’s coming from a lefty or a righty.

“I mean, my job is to catch the ball. So I feel like this is more for the quarterback to see the tempo of the routes, seeing how I run the routes, seeing the different moves that I add on to my routes. And I feel like working with that is more of a quarterback thing than a receiver thing.”

The future is bright for JJ McCarthy. Whether or not he can be the quarterback that wins a Super Bowl for the Vikings remains to be seen, but he’s certainly making believers in Minnesota heading into 2025.

— On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this article.