J.J. McCarthy gets 100% real about his health after missing rookie season

J.J. McCarthy missed out on his rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings after tearing his ACL during a preseason matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. On Wednesday morning, McCarthy was a guest on the "Up and Adams Show" live at the 2025 NFLPA Classic.

Host Kay Adams asked how his rehabilitation and knee were doing to which he proclaimed that he was doing well. He also said that suffering the knee injury gave him the necessary time to reflect on his life and career, and that he was thankful for the opportunity to stop, evaluate, and find his routine in his daily life.

“Fantastic, I would say I'm 100% but, you know, just staying consistent with the rehab process and not wavering from that, and just staying disciplined with all the outside stuff and making sure, you know, I'm not chopping too much wood and doing all that fun stuff. It was an ultimate blessing. Because, you know, it's just such a time of stillness where you get really, get to reflect and introspect and, you know, find a routine, especially early on in this career, in this profession, like, it's huge for young guys to find that habitual routine that they can rely on and, you know, stay consistent with. So, yeah, I would say that was the biggest thing for me.”-J.J. McCarthy told Kay Adams

Ahead of suffering the knee injury, J.J. McCarthy was essentially in a quarterback competition with Sam Darnold. The latter was named the starter after McCarthy was injured, eventually leading the Vikings to the NFC playoffs.

J.J. McCarthy revealed status of starting job with Vikings

While speaking with Kay Adams, quarterback J.J. McCarthy spoke about his future as the starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. Adams asked him when he knew he would be the starting quarterback heading into the 2025 NFL season.

It was then that McCarthy revealed that he actually hasn't been told yet that he will be the starter, and that he is happy to hear that.

“They haven't told me. I'm happy they didn't, because I try to earn it every single day, and I never want that to be given to me, and it's such a privilege and opportunity to give me that chance, and I'm just going to make the most of it every single day.”-McCarthy told Adams

Aaron Rodgers had previously shown interest in possibly signing with the Vikings. Minnesota, on the other hand, reportedly wasn't interested in pursuing the veteran quarterback.