Is J.J. McCarthy Playing Today? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Bengals vs. Vikings)

The latest injury update for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings will be without starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

McCarthy (ankle) has been ruled out for this game, although the Vikings had shared that he wouldn't play much earlier in the week, setting the stage for former first-round pick Carson Wentz to get his first start of the 2025 season.

Vikings QB Carson Wentz will start today vs. the Bengals and, simultaneously, make history. Wentz will become the first QB to start for six different teams in six consecutive seasons.
🏈2020: Eagles
🏈2021: Colts
🏈2022: Commanders
🏈2023: Chiefs
🏈2024: Rams
🏈2025: Vikings pic.twitter.com/5TuQJhZNWS

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 21, 2025

Once McCarthy's ankle injury was revealed, the line for the Vikings-Bengals matchup shifted in a big way. Minnesota went from a 4.5-point favorite at DraftKings down to a 3-point favorite against another backup quarterback in Cincy's Jake Browning.

While the Vikings have not put McCarthy on injured reserve, it's possible that this ankle issue knocks him out for more than one game.

The 2024 first-round pick had a strong finish to his debut, leading the Vikings to a comeback win in Week 1 over the Chicago Bears, but he's struggled otherwise, leading the team to just six points in a Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Overall, McCarthy has thrown for under 160 yards in each of his starts to open the 2025 season, and he's been picked off three times while completing just 58.5 percent of his passes. So, it's possible that there isn't a huge drop off with Wentz under center on Sunday.

Oddsmakers clearly don't seem to think that there is, as Minnesota is still favored to win and move to 2-1 in the 2025 season.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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