Minnesota’s bye week ended with the return of quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Monday.
McCarthy practiced for the first time since he was diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain in the Vikings’ Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said it’s too soon to say whether McCarthy is also returning to the starting lineup this week against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Carson Wentz, originally drafted by the Eagles, joined Minnesota after training camp and was forced into a starting role Week 3. He guided the Vikings to a comeback victory in London before the bye but was nursing a sore left shoulder before the week off.
“I think this week will be massive for our whole team, but just to see J.J. back out there getting reps and working through the process of building that foundation back up — we got off to a really good start last week,” O’Connell said while refusing to estimate a percentage health for the 22-year-old.
Linebacker Blake Cashman, sidelined since Week 1, started his 21-day return window from injured reserve on Monday.
McCarthy was given a recovery timeline of 2-4 weeks when he was injured. He missed his entire rookie season recovering from knee surgery.
In two games this season, McCarthy has completed 58.5% of his passes (24 of 41) for 301 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions. The Vikings’ 2024 first-round pick (No. 10 overall) tore the meniscus in his right knee during his first preseason game as a rookie.
Wentz, 32, seized the Eagles’ starting job straight out of North Dakota State in 2016 as the No. 2 overall pick. He spent five seasons as the Eagles’ starter before moving on to Indianapolis (2021), Washington (2022), the Los Angeles Rams (2023) and the Chiefs (2024).
He owns a 49-47-1 record in his 97 career starts with a 62.9% completion rate, 23,169 passing yards, 158 touchdowns, 69 interceptions and an 89.6 passer efficiency rating.
Cashman was injured at Chicago in the regular-season opener and replaced by Eric Wilson, who has 35 tackles, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles this season.
“We have just seen since we got Blake, when he’s out there, and we’re playing the type of defense that we’ve been accustomed to seeing, Blake’s got a lot to do with it,” O’Connell said Monday.
Cashman started 14 games for the Vikings and recorded a team-high 112 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 11 QB hits, eight tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and eight passes defensed.
