J.J. McCarthy on exiting Packers game, taunting penalty, uncertain future

McCarthy's up-and-down first season as the Vikings' starter came to an end on Sunday.

Jan 4, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) walks off the field after the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

An up-and-down first season for J.J. McCarthy as the Vikings' starting quarterback came to an up-and-down end on Sunday in a Week 18 win over the Packers.

McCarthy had a pretty good first half with some impressive plays, albeit with some poor throws and decisions — including a taunting penalty — mixed in. And his day came to an early end when he chose to remove himself from the game early in the third quarter due to the pain in his injured right hand becoming too intense.

The decision to leave the game was his, McCarthy said afterwards. He noted that he didn't make that call a couple weeks ago against the Giants when he initially suffered the hairline fracture in his hand, and it led to a strip-sack touchdown on a play where he couldn't grip the ball well enough to throw a screen pass into the dirt. This decision was a result of learning from that one.

"It feels bad on my heart, but I was happy I made the right decision," McCarthy said. "I learned from something from the prior week. Feeling the momentum of the game, how well the defense is playing, when it gets to a point where you feel like your body is gonna say 'No, you can't do that,' you gotta put your ego aside and understand you gotta do what's best for the team. It killed me to pull myself out, never done that before, but had to do what's best for the team."

After missing the second half of the Giants game and sitting out against the Lions four days later, McCarthy's hand got to a place where he was able to practice this week, grip the football well enough, and come into the game without an injury designation. But he clearly wasn't at 100 percent. He told the CBS broadcast that the pain in his hand was an 8.5 out of 10, but that he didn't want any pain meds (at least beyond Advil) that could numb the feeling in his hand. He said later that he didn't even want to tape up his hand, because he did that in an earlier game this year and felt it affected his play.

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

It's possible that the pain contributed to some of McCarthy's missed throws on Sunday. And even though there wasn't necessarily anything specific that aggravated the injury, it got to a point where he was again worried about being able to grip the ball well enough to keep playing effectively. His final throw of the day was his first throw after halftime, a simple screen pass to Justin Jefferson.

"It just started throbbing up a little bit during halftime," he said. "Threw that first pass to Justin and it was like 10 yards away from me and I didn't feel like I could throw any further than that without something wild happening with accuracy, so I felt like it was best to take me out."

That was not an easy call for McCarthy, who has proven to be an intense competitor. He wants to be on the field. He knows that staying healthy has been a roadblock for him so far in his NFL career, between missing all of his rookie season with a torn meniscus and missing seven games this season with three separate injuries (ankle, concussion, hand). Still, he felt he did the right thing.

"Narratives are something completely out of your control," McCarthy said, addressing the idea that he's prone to injury. "I can't change it, no matter what I do. I could go out there and grind through it and maybe fourth quarter happens, something fluky and I screw up a lot of my offseason. You can't deal in those what-ifs. You gotta feel what you're feeling right now and from your past experiences, take those lessons and apply it to that situation. It was one of the hardest choices I've had to make in my life so far, but I feel like it was the best thing for the team at that moment."

McCarthy feels like with more experience, he can avoid putting himself in some of the vulnerable positions that have led to his various injuries. "I just need to continue to work on everything that it is to be a good quarterback in this league, and I feel like the injuries will slowly fade away with more situational awareness and presence," he said.

No surgery will be needed on his hand, McCarthy said. He's just going to let it heal up with time before he dives into his offseason work.

Taunting penalty 'not gonna happen again'

Before he left the game, the first half was an eventful one for McCarthy. The play that stood out most, in multiple ways, was a six-yard rush on the Vikings' opening possession. McCarthy escaped the pocket, stiff-armed Packers linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper, and then lowered his shoulder into cornerback Kei'Sean Nixon instead of simply stepping out of bounds. It was quite the play, until he got into Nixon's face and drew a 15-yard taunting flag. Instead of 2nd and 4, it went to 2nd and 19 and the Vikings ultimately settled for a field goal.

JJ McCarthy showing off the power, but gets a taunting call along the way pic.twitter.com/vWj8FVfWS4

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 4, 2026

"I've never stiff-armed someone in my life, so there was a little excitement, little too much excitement," McCarthy said. "I got carried away, and right after, I felt so bad because I felt like my team down, I let my teammates down. And that's crucial. A big game, high stakes, you can't have dumb reactions like that that are selfish overall. My apologies go to my teammates and the defense. It's not gonna happen again, I promise you that."

"Appreciate everything about him as a competitor," Kevin O'Connell said, "but we just need to avoid ever setting ourselves back like that."

Whether you agree with the referee's call or not, it wasn't the first example this season of McCarthy being perhaps a bit too amped up while playing. Asked what he said to Nixon, he smiled and declined to answer.

Addressing his future

McCarthy's first season of NFL action has now come to an end. The results, from a statistical perspective, were not pretty. He accounted for nearly as many turnovers (14) as total touchdowns (15). In most quarterback metrics — including EPA per play and QBR — he ranks at or near the bottom of the league among players who took a certain number of snaps this year.

That level of production, combined with McCarthy's difficulty staying on the field, means all options are open for the Vikings at the QB position this offseason. At the very least, they're expected to add a quality veteran, whether as true competition for the job or at least as a high-floor backup. O'Connell sidestepped a postgame question about if he's comfortable going into next year with McCarthy as his starter.

Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

With that said, the Vikings did go 6-4 in McCarthy's starts this season, and he showed plenty of flashes of upside, especially later in the year. He knows his future, to some extent, is now out of his hands.

"After today, maybe," he said when asked if he feels he's earned the starting job next season. "But tomorrow, there's nothing promised. The next day, there's nothing promised. That's something I take very seriously. It's not something that you buy and you get for the rest of your life. You rent it, you lease it every single day, and I'm just trying to make daily deposits and make sure I'm in this house for a long time."

"In my opinion, I feel like I have, but at the end of the day, they have their own opinion, they have their own perspective," he added. "I just feel confident going into this offseason and content with where I'm at, because I feel like they know who I am as an individual and the potential and capability that this offense could have with me at the helm."

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