O’Connell said he plans on meeting one-on-one with McCarthy every week.
J.J. McCarthy won’t be playing at all this season, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to be involved. Head coach Kevin O’Connell will make sure of that. The Vikings want their rookie quarterback to be around the team and connected to everything they do over the course of the next four-plus months.
Although his torn meniscus means he’s unable to get physical reps, McCarthy’s development is going to continue off the field this year. He’ll be studying film, taking mental reps, and also meeting one-on-one with O’Connell every week.
“I want to see him, I want his teammates to see him every day,” O’Connell said on Wednesday. “I want him in meetings. I’m going to meet with him personally one day a week and make sure that I can be challenging him on his ownership of the game plans, the ‘why’ behind things we’re doing, play intent for me, making sure he’s still having a major role, leadership-wise, with especially that young rookie class.”
Good quarterback rooms are always collaborative units. McCarthy, Nick Mullens, and Brett Rypien will be immersed in the game plan each week, helping starter Sam Darnold get ready to go every weekend. They’ll be counted on to do things like offer pointers in meetings and film sessions.
“I want J.J. to feel like he’s a support system for Sam, part of that culture of that quarterback room,” O’Connell said. “But at the same time, bigger picture, making sure we don’t waste one moment where there could be some growth and development, and really continue the positive momentum (for McCarthy) that I think a lot of us saw in training camp before the injury.”
2024 is about Darnold. But McCarthy being heavily involved in helping prepare the Vikings’ starter each week will also serve him well as he progresses towards potentially taking over that role and making his NFL debut one year from now.
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