At this point, there’s no more hiding behind closed practices and coachspeak. Head coach Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings are admittedly working through mechanical issues with young quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and the entire offense will remain a work in progress in the interim.
Some growing pains were expected for a 23-year-old player who lost his entire rookie season — and all the valuable practice reps that come with it – to last summer’s meniscus injury. But the Vikings don’t want McCarthy thinking on the field; they want him reacting naturally while executing the offense, and that just hasn’t been the case over the first six starts of his career.