{"id":262400,"date":"2025-10-31T07:25:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T07:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/262400\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T07:25:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T07:25:22","slug":"underlying-tension-surrounding-vikings-as-j-j-mccarthy-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/262400\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Underlying tension’ surrounding Vikings as J.J. McCarthy returns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perhaps they should have stuck with Sam Darnold.<\/p>\n

The Minnesota Vikings, who won 13 games in 2022 and 14 games in 2024, are in the midst of a tumultuous stretch where several reporters are pointing out that there\u2019s some internal strife beginning to manifest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s felt to me\u2026that there\u2019s been like an underlying tension with this team and in its staff,\u201d The Athletic\u2019s Alec Lewis said on his eponymous podcast.<\/a> \u201cYou just get the sense that the joy that has been there in two of the three seasons, where they have won double digit games, you just don\u2019t feel that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The backdrop to this report is the rampant injuries at key positions and, arguably, mismanagement at the quarterback position.<\/p>\n

Kevin O\u2019Connell is considered one of the league\u2019s best coaches. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy has played poorly in limited action and dealt with a right high-ankle sprain that has kept him out for much of the season. It comes after he missed his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Backup quarterback Carson Wentz is now out for the year<\/a> after revealing that he\u2019s been dealing with a shoulder injury for the last month and playing poorly through it.<\/p>\n

Wentz was in obvious pain as he suffered through the Vikings\u2019 37-10 loss to the Chargers last Thursday night.<\/p>\n

The Vikings bet it all on J.J. McCarthy this offseason. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The optics of using the veteran Wentz in that spot, while McCarthy has missed six weeks with an ankle sprain, raised some eyebrows.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not an idiot,\u201d Wentz said about the injury<\/a>. \u201cI know what I was signing up for going out there. Nobody was forcing me, pressuring me, any of those things. Everybody\u2019s handled this tremendously. Communication\u2019s been phenomenal from coaches, trainers, all the things. I knew what we were doing all along.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Another Vikings insider and former ESPN Radio host, Matthew Coller of Purple Insider<\/a>, said that this is a big piece of a fractured locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is more evidence of a s\u2013t show with the training staff this year,\u201d Coller said, citing a person with knowledge of the situation. \u201cSo many mismanaged injuries: [Andrew] Van Ginkle, [Brian] O\u2019Neill, [Christian] Darrisaw, Wentz and McCarthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coller added that another person he spoke to said, \u201cThis is how you lose a locker room. Everyone is going to be in the cold tub, saying, \u2018What the heck are we doing?’\u201d<\/p>\n

Carson Wentz gets sacked by the Chargers as he plays through a shoulder injury. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connell, who is a former NFL QB, is in his fourth season as Minnesota\u2019s head coach and is widely considered one of the best offensive minds in the game.<\/p>\n

The worrying quarterback situation comes after the Vikings let Darnold \u2014 and former Giants quarterback Daniel Jones\u00a0\u2014 go in free agency last offseason, both of whom are having Pro Bowl-level seasons.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

There had also been reports that the Vikings passed on bringing in Aaron Rodgers<\/a> this offseason because of their trust in McCarthy.<\/p>\n

Rodgers, meanwhile, has been starring for the Steelers, although they have not had a strong season defensively, limiting the team\u2019s upside. <\/p>\n

McCarthy is expected back this week for his third career NFL start, as the Vikings face the NFC North rival Lions on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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