The Minnesota Vikings are trying to get back above .500 against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night. They received excellent news on this front when they learned about running back Aaron Jones' potential return. Unfortunately, they can't yet say the same for their young quarterback, who was Minnesota's starter entering the 2025 season.

The former No. 1 pick is expected to start in Week 9 against the Lions, and Minnesota needs him to play like he did at Michigan when he won the national championship.

If McCarthy picks up where he left off and Minnesota’s season sputters to an uninspiring finish, everything will be in question for this team.

The Minnesota Vikings are now 3-4 following a 37-10 road loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, which featured another rough outing for quarterback Carson Wentz. Many fans are clamoring for young JJ McCarthy,

J.J. McCarthy, out since Week 2 with a high ankle sprain, might finally be ready to return to the No. 1 QB spot. He's healthy enough that the Vikings have made him the emergency quarterback against the Eagles and Chargers, so barring a setback, one would imagine he'll be ready by Nov. 2.

When the Vikings play their next game, nine days from now against the Lions, they need to see what quarterback J.J. McCarthy can do. His high ankle sprain was, we're told, was a 4-6 week injury. The Week 9 game will land seven weeks from when it happened.

McCarthy is unavailable to play for the Minnesota Vikings Thursday, so veteran quarterback Carson Wentz will take over again.

The Minnesota Vikings have already matched their loss total from 2024 after eschewing Sam Darnold for J.J. McCarthy, but much of the blame can't be pinned on McCarthy. The second-year quarterback has missed all but two games with an ankle injury suffered ...