J.J. McCarthy Injury: QB Likely Won't Play For Vikings in Week 3 Due to Ankle Sprain

The Minnesota quarterback suffered a sprained ankle in their loss to the Falcons on Sunday night.

J.J. McCarthy suffered an ankle injury this weekend that is likely to keep him out in Week 3. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Things have gone from bad to worse for the Vikings after their Sunday Night Football loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Feeling the aftereffects of the 22-6 defeat that brought them to 1-1, Minnesota is now unlikely to have starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy under center for their contest against the Cincinnati Bengals next weekend.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell relayed the news on Monday morning, explaining that the signal caller suffered an ankle sprain.

"J.J. McCarthy did come in very, very sore today with the ankle sprained," he said. "I would anticipate we are not planning on having him for Sunday. "

Head Coach Kevin O'Connell has announced J.J. McCarthy has an ankle sprain and he will more than likely miss the team's Week 3 game against Cincinnati. pic.twitter.com/01AhkeMpRK

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 15, 2025

"[I] don't likely see this being any kind of short-term IR thing," O'Connell continued. "But I do wanna see ... how he responds to treatment this week. Give him a ton of credit. Just the toughness to get that thing taped up and keep playing. But yeah, that is something that we were able to determine today. Obviously tough news there."

ESPN's Adam Schefter has since reported that McCarthy is expected to be sidelined for two to four weeks with a high ankle sprain. Veteran quarterback Carson Wentz will now start in his place.

The Vikings will host the Bengals, who are dealing with quarterback problems of their own, on Sunday afternoon for a 1 p.m. ET contest from U.S. Bank Stadium.

Carson Wentz vs. Jake Browning. Just like we all anticipated.

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