The Chicago Bears know they have a tall order ahead of them in 2024 due to the NFC North division. It appears to be among the strongest in the NFL. Detroit and Green Bay were in the playoffs. Minnesota still has a strong roster and appears to have addressed their big issue at quarterback with the selection of J.J. McCarthy in the 1st round. He even offered some hope with a solid showing in his preseason debut. Unfortunately, fate seems to have other plans.
Word broke this morning that the rookie returned to the Vikings’ facility complaining of knee soreness. Further tests revealed unwelcome news: McCarthy has a torn meniscus and will require surgery. This is a brutal blow to a team that was feeling so optimistic despite losing Kirk Cousins to free agency in March. Now, they must reassess their timeline for his development.
The Chicago Bears can only be grateful it’s not them.
Caleb Williams made it through his preseason debut without a scratch. Injuries have been a fact of life at quarterback for this franchise for years. Only three players have managed to start a full season without missing time since 1990. One can only hope Williams joins that list. This McCarthy injury validated many of the concerns people had about him before the draft. At 202 lbs, they felt he was too light, making him more susceptible to injuries. Sure enough, he tears his meniscus in his first game action. Minnesota will likely forge ahead with veteran Sam Darnold. All anybody can do is wait to see how bad the damage is. A full tear means McCarthy could miss 6-9 months. That means the Chicago Bears wouldn’t see him until 2025.
I wish I could say I was surprised. JJM was not NFL ready and anyone who really studied it could see that.
Their GM should be fired immediately! Sorry…just mocking gena…my bad.
Sounds like an unfortunate turn of events for McCarthy. That said, his ‘low’ weight likely played no role in the injury. If he had an additional 30 pounds of muscle mass, he would likely have suffered the same injury. Frankly, the heavier a player is, the more stress on their menisci, and the more likely they are to injure it. Football is a violent game, with collisions, chaos, and injuries that can happen to anyone, regardless of size. If being big was insurance against injury, the OL players would almost never get hurt. In reality, they almost always are nursing… Read more »
I don’t think JJ would have won the starting job over Darnold, who has a legit NFL arm. Like Fields, JJ never truly sat his Freshman year. Sure his mechanics are better, but he only threw 21 times a game on a run heavy team. He needs a year to get stronger.
Losing Addison for 6 games is huge.
That sucks! I like JJ hoping for the best and a quick recovery. I don’t want any excuses from these NFC north teams when we woop their ass this year!