One-time Super Bowl MVP sounds alarms about Vikings' J.J. McCarthy

Arguably the biggest storyline hovering over the 2-1 Minnesota Vikings ahead of their upcoming matchup versus the 2-1 Pittsburgh Steelers involves whether or not the Vikings could ultimately stick with Carson Wentz as their starting quarterback after J.J. McCarthy recovers from his high right ankle sprain. 

McCarthy has already been ruled out of this coming Sunday's game in Dublin, Ireland. During Thursday's edition of the "Pro Football Talk Live" program, one-time Super Bowl MVP and current NFL analyst Phil Simms suggested Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell may soon have a difficult decision on his hands. 

Why Phil Simms is worried about J.J. McCarthy

"I don’t like to start controversies or anything like that, but I would be worried about J.J. McCarthy," Simms explained. "Yeah, he had the great quarter, the fourth quarter against the Bears. But what really makes me think is just the throwing part of it. You know, he’s just not throwing the ball well when he was out there. It’s a lot of work, and it seems like unless he gets to throw it as hard as he can throw it, that’s the only time he somewhat puts it on target, on time, and everything like that."

Concerns about McCarthy's arm strength arose before the Vikings selected him in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and before he spent his entire rookie season recovering from a full meniscus repair. While he tossed two touchdown passes and rushed for a score in the fourth quarter of Minnesota's 27-24 Week 1 victory at the Bears, he otherwise left much to be desired with his play before his latest setback. According to ESPN stats, McCarthy began Thursday responsible for a league-worst 20.6 adjusted QBR among qualified passers for this season. 

J.J. McCarthy still needs time to develop

"I think they got a lot of work to do if they want to turn him into what they call a franchise quarterback, and he’s gonna need a lot of work, a lot of playing time, practice time," Simms added about McCarthy. 

Simms also thinks Minnesota could keep Wentz in the lineup "until it turns and where they can see bringing J.J. McCarthy back in would be a lift to the team." 

In Week 3, Wentz completed 14-of-20 passes for 173 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers in Minnesota's 48-10 blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals. As of Thursday afternoon, ESPN BET had the Vikings as 2.5-point favorites for this Sunday's contest that will take place at Croke Park. At that same time, it was unclear if McCarthy could be healthy enough to play in the Vikings' Week 5 game against the Cleveland Browns.