Is there reason to be concerned about J.J. McCarthy's latest injury?

J.J. McCarthy being back on the injury report is the last thing Vikings fans wanted to see this week. But there he is, listed as limited in Wednesday's practice due to a right hand injury.

Because of McCarthy's injury history and the way he spoke about the situation on Wednesday, this isn't something that can be completely written off. But the good news is that neither McCarthy nor head coach Kevin O'Connell expect this to be an issue that affects the preparation for Minnesota's young quarterback this week or his availability for Sunday's huge game against the Bears.

Late in the third quarter of last Sunday's loss against the Ravens, McCarthy hit his hand on a helmet while following through on one of his better throws of the day — a strike for a would-be 25-yard touchdown that Justin Jefferson couldn't haul in. He said the pain was noticeable, but noted that he didn't want to make any excuses for it potentially affecting his play after that point.

"I definitely felt it, for sure," he said. "Ripped one in there pretty good to Jets and hit a helmet, so you're gonna be feeling it the rest of the way, but there's no excuses at all. Gotta find ways to adapt and make sure the ball gets to the receiver."

Up to and including the play where he hit his hand on a helmet, McCarthy had completed 14 of 25 passes (56 percent) for 170 yards. After that point, he completed just 6 of his final 17 attempts (35 percent) for 78 yards. A couple of his best throws of the day did come in the fourth quarter, but he also had quite a few off-target passes.

"If you get your hand slammed in a car door, it's gonna feel different for everything you do with that hand," he said. "There's no excuses whatsoever, at the end of the day. We're warriors and we gotta push through."

This was the play where J.J. McCarthy bruised his throwing hand. Appears to hit Donovan Jackson's helmet on his follow-through.

McCarthy compared it today to getting "your hand slammed in a car door" and said he felt it the rest of the game, but he isn't concerned about his… pic.twitter.com/VmzU9Hp4mP
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) November 12, 2025

O'Connell said on Wednesday that everything had checked out with McCarthy's hand from a medical standpoint. It sounds like it was bruised and had a little swelling, so he wore a bandage on his hand during practice because the Vikings "(didn't) want it to fester the rest of the week." O'Connell doesn't believe it will affect McCarthy's week of preparation "very much at all."

McCarthy said he's been "getting a lot of treatment in the last few days and will continue to do so," but added that his hand "feels really good."

For now, there doesn't appear to be any reason to think McCarthy might miss this week's game. Still, the last thing he needs right now, after struggling with accuracy over his first four career outings, is a throwing hand that's at less than 100 percent.

Very early in his career, injuries continue to be part of the story for McCarthy, who has missed 23 of a possible 27 games due to knee and ankle ailments. The hope for the Vikings is that this latest issue is nothing more than it seems.

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