Doctor Claims McCarthy Is Ready to Play But Vikings Keep Him on Sidelines
In a Week 7 Thursday night clash against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Minnesota Vikings will again be without quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who remains sidelined for his fifth straight game due to a high-ankle sprain sustained in Week 2.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed on Tuesday that veteran quarterback Carson Wentz will start, with undrafted rookie Max Brosmer as the backup. McCarthy has been designated as the emergency third-string quarterback.
“I’m encouraged about where [McCarthy] is at,” O’Connell said about his young signal caller.
“Very much looking forward to continuing his progression and hopefully having a chance to go next week.”
David J. Chao, a former NFL team doctor known as “ProFootballDoc” on social media, suggests McCarthy’s absence from the starting lineup reflects a lack of confidence in his readiness rather than the severity of his injury.
“Proof positive that #JJMcCarthy is healthy enough to play,” Chao wrote on X. “Not saying he is 100% but no way HC @Vikings would make him emergency QB for 2nd straight week otherwise. All I am saying is @Chiefs QB won a #SuperBowl playing thru high ankle sprain and right now JJ is not @PatrickMahomes which makes this a ‘coaching decision.'”
The Vikings started the season 1-1 with McCarthy as the starter. In his two NFL games, the former Michigan quarterback completed 58.5% of his passes for 301 yards, throwing two touchdowns and three interceptions, while adding 50 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Since stepping in for McCarthy, Wentz has led the Vikings to a 2-2 record. The veteran has completed 66.9% of his passes for 1,072 yards, with five touchdowns and four interceptions.
The Vikings’ primetime showdown with the Chargers is set for an 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff. McCarthy’s next chance to reclaim the starting role comes in Week 8 against the Detroit Lions on November 2.
Yankees Legend's World Series Journey Saw Many Detours
The New York Yankees were in Toronto when they clinched the Wild Card in 1995. The moment was special for more reasons than it being the organization's first postseason appearance since 1981. It would mark the first time that Don Mattingly would be playing October baseball.
A cathartic Mattingly got on his knees and pounded Toronto's turf after the clincher. Mattingly, who debuted a year after the Los Angeles Dodgers bested the Yankees in the World Series, waited 1,785 days to get there. In those final weeks of the season, he hit .346/.417/.558 in 60 plate appearances, playing his part to ensure that he felt what it was like to play in the fall.
Mattingly's Long Journey
Reaching the World Series has been another story entirely for Mattingly. That journey has been longer. Between playing, coaching, and managing, Mattingly has finally arrived after 5,231 games.
"Obviously, it feels great to get there, and I feel like we're gonna play well too," Mattingly told Sweeny Murti for MLB.com. "Paul O'Neill told me once you get to the World Series, it's almost like this is the fun part. The feeling of fighting to get there is so tense. So, yes, I'm going to enjoy it. It's been really fun."
Very few have seen the things Mattingly has seen. In his prime, he got to play with Dave Winfield and Rickey Henderson. His first and only playoff home run had Yankee Stadium shaking.
Mattingly would return to the postseason as a coach. He sat beside Joe Torre as the organization collapsed in 2004. Those Red Sox leapfrogged over the Yankees to snap their 86-year curse. In 2015, he was in a similar position. In the NLCS, Mattingly watched a Chicago Cubs team snap their 108-year-old drought as his Dodgers fell in six games.
It looked like another team with another long World Series drought would send Mattingly home. It didn't happen, though, and it proved to be a full circle moment on two fronts. Those same Mariners who eliminated his Yankees in 1995 took the Blue Jays to seven games, but a George Springer home run sealed the deal for Toronto. Now, Mattingly's journey to the World Series ends in the same country where his playoff road began decades earlier.
Mattingly's Own Words
Mattingly described his route to the World Series as a "long road" to columnist Bill Madden of the Daily News.
“To be honest, I still don’t have the words,” Mattingly said. “It’s been a long road, but I always believed, although I didn’t think it would be Toronto. But this is a real team, a tough team that’s grown together and shown what can happen when you play good defense, put runners on base, keep making contact. All of that.”
What's most unfortunate is that if Mattingly does win his first championship, it won't be with the Yankees. He has two Steinbrenners to thank for that one. George's meddling in the 1980s kept the Yankees out, and Hal's conservative approach to roster building, often prioritizing costs over the product on the field, made the Blue Jays' dismantling of the Yankees feel like light work.
While Mattingly probably never guessed this opportunity would happen in Toronto, he'll probably take it. The captain has earned it after all these years.
