Rookie Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy had second surgery on injured knee that sidelined him for 2024 season

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has had a second surgery on his injured right knee.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed the procedure while speaking with reporters on Wednesday.

McCarthy, whom the Vikings selected with the No. overall 10 pick in April’s NFL Draft, initially had surgery in August to repair the meniscus in his right knee. The procedure sidelined him for the entirety of his rookie season. McCarthy sustained the injury in his preseason debut.

The second surgery was to address swelling in his knee since’s he’s resumed activity following his first surgery. Per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, McCarthy had a biologic injection as part of the second procedure.

Per the Cleveland Clinic, biologic injections “are medications that come from organic life” that are often used to “treat difficult diseases that traditional human-made drugs can’t successfully treat.”

McCarthy’s timeline to return remains the same, according to O’Connell. His initial prognosis placed him on track to be ready for the 2025 season.

McCarthy was the fifth quarterback off the board in April out of Michigan after Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye went 1-2-3 and Michael Penix Jr. was selected eighth overall by the Atlanta Falcons.

McCarthy was initially listed on the depth chart as the backup to Sam Darnold in the preseason. The No. 3 pick by the New York Jets in the 2018 draft, Darnold joined the Vikings this offseason after failing to hold on to a starting job with the Jets and Carolina Panthers and spending a season as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers.

Darnold so far has had the best season of his career while helping lead the Vikings to a 7-2 start. But he’s struggled in recent weeks with five interceptions in Minnesota’s last two games, including a zero-touchdown, three-interception performance Sunday in a 12-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.