What J.J. McCarthy’s ankle injury means for fantasy football in Week 3

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell revealed on Monday that starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy is dealing with a high ankle sprain and will miss their Week 3 home matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday. O’Connell said that he doesn’t expect the young QB to be placed on IR, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported afterwards that he could miss 2-4 weeks.

McCarthy sustained the injury during the team’s 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night. The second-year quarterback had an extremely rough outing in the primetime matchup, going 11-21 for 158 yards with two interceptions while taking six sacks and 11 QB hits throughout the evening. The beating that he took served as a sharp reality check after leading the Vikings to a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback victory over the Chicago Bears just six days prior.

The 2024 first-round pick has already dealt with the injury bug in his young pro career as he missed the entirety of his rookie season due to a torn meniscus in his right knee. If Sunday is the only game that he sits out with this ankle sprain, then he’d be set to return for their Week 4 international matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin. Otherwise, we won’t see McCarthy on the field until October if Schefter’s report comes to fruition.

McCarthy entered the season with an average draft position of 19, so most fantasy managers had him tabbed as a backup through the first two weeks of the regular season. Veteran Carson Wentz will step in Minnesota’s starting QB in his absence, but McCarthy managers should already have better options to lean on.

This could also mean more work for the 1-2 punch of Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones on the ground and they will be going up against a Bengals defense that has a negative rushing EPA through two games. With Cincinnati also forced to start its backup QB due to Joe Burrow’s injury, this matchup may actually come down to the side that can get its run game going on Sunday.