Vikings Ready For 1st Look At Healthy McCarthy In Upcoming OTA

The Minnesota Vikings will hold their voluntary OTA next week and it seems quite obvious that this preseason training exercise is vitally important. It will mean much more to the Vikings than the large majority of the other 31 teams in Roger Goodell’s universe.

Why? Because J.J. McCarthy will be on display to the coaching staff and his teammates in a competitive situation for the first time since he tore his meniscus last summer in the team’s first preseason game. All reports to this point have been positive on his progress, but this is the first major step in McCarthy becoming the Vikings’ starting quarterback for the 2025 season.

McCarthy has built a rapport with the team’s medical and training staff, coaches and players since the injury. All signs point to a successful showing and progress prior to the team’s mandatory minicamp that will run from June 10-12.

The OTA and the minicamp were instituted after the NFL took the bite out of the importance of training camp. There was a time when coaches worked their players to multiple practice sessions on a daily basis that lasted up to 3 hours in the morning session and 2 hours in the afternoon.

Prior to the merger of the American Football League and the NFL, several coaches actually conducted these devastating and demanding sessions without water breaks. While those times were cruel and dangerous, they also produced teams that were ready to play their best football in the first week of September when the season opened.

That has not been the case for decades. The NFL builds to a crescendo as the season progresses. Most starting skill-position players barely break a sweat in the preseason. Teams only play three games in the heat of August, and the overwhelming thought of most coaching staffs – including Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings – is to make sure key players don’t get hurt before the start of the season.

But the Vikings are hoping to find answers to the most important questions in both the OTA and the minicamp. O’Connell and his staff want to see McCarthy running the offense with skill and confidence since his performance will likely be the key to the team’s success this season.

Vikings offensive line appears improved

The Vikings have answered multiple questions in the offseason concerning their most obvious vulnerable areas on the offensive line and the pass rush.

The team demonstrated strength and versatility in multiple areas during last year’s successful 14-3 season, but the team fell apart over a six-day span in early January when they lost to the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams as their season came to a sudden conclusion.

Vikings fans don’t need to be reminded that the offensive line didn’t hold up in either game and Sam Darnold’s skill at the quarterback position diminished as he faced physical and mental pressure.

The Vikings are banking on McCarthy performing better in those crucial moments. He has the coaching staff and his teammates on his side, including All-Pro wideout Justin Jefferson.

The receiver has built an off-the-field rapport with the quarterback since he was drafted in 2024.

“He’s been my locker mate ever since he’s got here,” Jefferson said, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. “So, just kind of chopping it up with him and just being with him outside of football. Just kind of taking them outside, of course, to the Wolves game (NBA series decisive game between victorious Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors), and just inviting him to the house, just trying to build that connection and build that team chemistry.

“Because, of course, he’s going to be my quarterback. So, in order to have that connection and have that personal, that one-on-one connection, we have to know each other besides football.”

It will come down to the connection that McCarthy and Jefferson have on the field in the upcoming season. Both McCarthy and Jefferson are doing everything they can to make sure that partnership will pay off in the regular season, the playoffs and the years to come.