Minnesota Vikings place JJ McCarthy on injured reserve, sign QB Matt Corral

After he had surgery to repair a torn meniscus, the Minnesota Vikings have placed J.J. McCarthy on injured reserve, the franchise announced. They also signed former Ole Miss and Carolina Panthers quarterback Matt Corral in a corresponding move.

McCarthy made his lone preseason appearance in the opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, but missed practice with knee soreness afterward. Testing later showed a torn meniscus and he underwent season-ending surgery as a result, meaning the Vikings had to find a new backup for Sam Darnold.

That led them to Corral, whom the Panthers selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He immediately was placed on injured reserve after suffering a Lisfranc injury and spent last season playing in the UFL with the Birmingham Stallions.

McCarthy will now find himself on the sidelines for his rookie season after previously looking to challenge Darnold for the starting quarterback job. In fact, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t rule out the possibility of the former Michigan star getting the nod in Week 1.

Instead, McCarthy underwent surgery. He had a message to Minnesota fans after making the decision to do so, as well.

“Love you Viking nation,” McCarthy wrote, when it was first revealed he had a torn meniscus. “I’ll be back in no time. Amor fati.”

In his lone preseason action, McCarthy went 11 of 17 passing for 188 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He showed some good signs as he transitioned to the NFL level, and he’ll now get to look on this year and kickstart his career in 2025.

Kevin O’Connell: JJ McCarthy ‘played really well’ vs Raiders

O’Connell also sounded impressed with the rookie’s performance. He said it was good for McCarthy to get some game reps, and he handled it well.

“I thought JJ played really well,” O’Connell said of McCarthy on The Pat McAfee Show. “You know, for his first time out, no coaches on the field, it’s just those 11 guys, 11 guys on defense and the refs out there. There’s really not much more you ever want to see than just the guys take the work from the practice field, and especially as you get into different groups on your team, you find out who’s prepared. 

“You find out who’s ready. And obviously, anytime you play a game, preseason or not, in an NFL stadium, and the lights come on, you tend to see who guys really are as players. And I just thought, you know, there (were) a ton of learning moments in the game for JJ.”