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Sports
The Associated Press

Vikings rookie QB J.J. McCarthy to miss season following right knee surgery to repair torn meniscus

People play football on field
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) is hit by Las Vegas Raiders safety Jaydon Grant (40) during the first half of an NFL football game on Aug. 10 in Minneapolis.
Bruce Kluckhohn | AP

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J.J. McCarthy’s rookie year with the Minnesota Vikings is already over.

The former Michigan star quarterback and first-round NFL draft pick will miss the season after undergoing surgery on his right knee, which he injured in his preseason debut last week.

McCarthy had the operation on Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus suffered at some point against Las Vegas. McCarthy had been having a solid training camp and had been expected to back up starter Sam Darnold, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract with Minnesota in March.

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell delivered the news on McCarthy shortly after the team arrived for two days of joint practices with the Browns.

O’Connell said McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the draft after leading the Wolverines to a national title, checked all the boxes over the past few months. He said the team is excited about McCarthy’s future.

“He’s confirmed a lot of things that not just myself, but a lot of people and J.J. himself needed to confirm,” O’Connell said. “He’s done that. Now he just has to work through this process, so that when his time does come, he’s healthy and he gets to take the reins of this thing.”

McCarthy went 11 of 17 for 188 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against the Raiders. The 21-year-old told the team his knee was sore after the game and the meniscus tear was diagnosed by imaging tests.

The Vikings initially hoped McCarthy would only miss a month while acknowleding they wouldn’t know for certain until he had surgery.

“I’m the most crushed for J.J.,” O’Connell said.

Nick Mullens will be Minnesota’s No. 2 quarterback. The 29-year-old started three games for Minnesota last year, when the Vikings’ season was derailed by an injury to starting quarterback Kirk Cousins and the team cycled through multiple backups.

“He’s not just another capable guy in that quarterback room,” O’Connell said. “He is providing context, experience and understanding of our offense on a daily basis. His experience last year was critical. I think he learned that he could be an explosive driver of our offense and also had some lessons of taking care of the football and trying to make sure we’re playing aggressively but not over the line by putting the ball at risk of being turned over.

“The team is excited about Nick because like many of us we’ve gone through the ups and downs but he’s in a position to really be a guy we can rely on and be a snap away.”