Vikings Make Unfortunate QB Announcement Before Facing Bengals
Posted September 20, 2025
In Week 3 of his second NFL season, J.J. McCarthy finds himself in an unfortunately familiar position with the Minnesota Vikings: injured. On Friday, the Vikings made their final decision on the former No. 10 pick ahead of their tilt against the Cincinnati Bengals.
McCarthy missed his rookie season with a torn meniscus that he suffered in the Vikings’ 2024 preseason opener.
Now, after two starts, McCarthy is set to miss at least the next two games, if not more.
J.J. McCarthy Officially Ruled Out For Vikings-Bengals
McCarthy suffered an ankle injury in the Vikings’ Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, finishing the contest and reporting discomfort in the aftermath. The Vikings did not place him on injured reserve, which means he does not have to miss four games.
That is a potentially good sign about the youngster’s recovery. The Vikings and head coach Kevin O’Connell could take a cautious approach, though, given his history.
He will not play or even suit up on Sunday against the Bengals, though.
McCarthy has thrown for 301 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions on 58.5% completion this season. In his stead, the Vikings are starting former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2016 draft.
Wentz will have less than one month with the Vikings when he takes his first historic snap as the starter against the Bengals, and he noted the lessons he has learned that could help him.
But McCarthy is not the only absence Minnesota must account for, either.
Vikings Rule Out 2 More Players
In addition to McCarthy, the Vikings also ruled out starting center Ryan Kelly and backup-turned-starting offensive tackle Justin Skule.
Kelly signed a two-year, $18 million contract, joining his former Indianapolis Colts teammate and fellow 2025 free agent Will Fries on a revamped offensive line for the Vikings. His history of concussions has garnered renewed attention amid his latest bout.
Skule has filled in at left tackle for the first two games in place of Christian Darrisaw.
That means the Vikings will be without their starting QB (McCarthy), center (Kelly), and fill-in LT1 (Skule), and they are not exactly out of the woods elsewhere on the roster.
Andrew Van Ginkel, Christian Darrisaw, Harrison Smith Among Question Marks
Fortunately for the Vikings, even with McCarthy out, Darrisaw could make his 2025 debut after missing the first two games recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season. A former first-round pick in the 2021 draft, his return would alleviate concerns about Wentz’s blindside.
He will already have a rookie in Donovan Jackson at left guard and a backup as his batterymate at center. Moreover, the Vikings could be without a pair of defensive starters, too.
Andrew Van Ginkel and Harrison Smith are both questionable for the tilt against the Bengals.
The Bengals, who will be without their starting QB, Joe Burrow, are catching a break. Van Ginkel, who missed the loss to the Falcons, and Smith, who has yet to take the field this season, are Pro Bowlers who will miss the contest.
The Vikings are banged up early, and they must overcome that to keep themselves afloat until they can get healthier and continue with their playoff aspirations.
Steelers must let polarizing rookie redeem himself against Patriots
Benching this talented rookie isn't the answer.
We're only two games into the season, and Mike Tomlin has already had it with rookie running back Kaleb Johnson. The third-round pick coughed up the football on a kick return in the season-opener against the Jets—a ball that the Pittsburgh Steelers fortunately recovered. But his brutal mistake in Week 2 already has him in Tomlin's doghouse.
When the Seattle Seahawks kicked the ball to the Steelers in the second half after a score, Johnson let the ball hit in the landing zone and bounce into the end zone without recovering the football. For whatever reason, Johnson thought the ball was dead, and in one of the most bizarre special teams plays you'll ever see, the kicking team jumped on the football in the end zone for a touchdown.
Tomlin has no patience for foolishness like this, and the Steelers' head coach informed the media that Johnson has been benched from kick return duties.
Though we can all understand where Tomlin is coming from with this decision, he needs to give Johnson a chance to redeem himself against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must let Kaleb Johnson run the football against the New England Patriots
When a young player makes a careless mistake that may have cost the Pittsburgh Steelers a tally in the win column, the easy thing to do is send that player to the bench. However, in this case, it's not the right choice.
Johnson was never drafted to be the Steelers' kick returner; he was drafted to run the football—something he did better than any running back in the Big Ten last year. He's tailor-made for Arthur Smith's wide zone offense. But with only two carries in as many games, Johnson hasn't been given the opportunities to prove himself.
It would make more sense for Tomlin to give Johnson a timeout on the bench if Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell were running the ball well. Unfortunately, they are not. Entering Week 3, Warren and Gainwell have combined for 124 yards on 37 attempts. This is good for a dismal 3.3 yards per carry
Gainwell, in particular, has been incredibly inefficient. In addition to his 33.3 percent run success rate, the veteran running back has turned nine targets in the passing game into just 20 yards (2.2 yards per target). Gainwell has also fumbled once in his first two games, just like Johnson.
The Steelers' running game hasn't been able to get off the ground, and Kaleb Johnson is the last person on offense to blame. Tomlin has only given him two carries, though Omar Khan drafted him to be this team's workhorse back eventually.
Johnson turned 22 years old last month, and he's not going to get better by sitting on the bench. The Pittsburgh Steelers need to give him a shot to redeem himself by actually using him as a running back in Week 3 against the New England Patriots.
