Vikings analyst rips McCarthy's 'theatrics' after pulling himself from Packers game

J.J. McCarthy's turbulent first season as the Vikings' starting quarterback came to an end shortly into the second half of Sunday's 16-3 win over the Packers. Dealing with a hairline fracture in his throwing hand that prevented him from playing in Minnesota's Week 17 win over the Lions, McCarthy decided to pull himself out of the game due lingering issues with his hand.

Speaking Monday, former Vikings linebacker and current radio analyst Ben Leber said he didn't "love" McCarthy's decision to leave the game, and he certainly wasn't a fan of how theatrical the 22-year-old's exit was as he covered his hand in a towel and held it behind his back.

"I don't love the theatrics of it. I don't love the optics of it. There's so much drama that's surrounding that. You don't need to place a towel over your hand. It's not melting. There's not a bone sticking out. It's not disfigured. It's not harming anybody by looking at it," Leber said on KFAN's Power Trip Morning Show. "I think that he's got a lot to learn about the body language, the behavior, the outward optics of how things look."

J.J. McCarthy said he couldn’t go anymore

told his teammates “I’m sorry” pic.twitter.com/HwLaKcWjz3
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 4, 2026

Nobody knows how painful it was for McCarthy, but Leber had a problem with McCarthy not toughing out the series before letting team trainers make the call to pull him.

"I know that there are situations where you might have to alert the training staff that something's going on, something doesn't feel right," Leber said. "So, there are certain circumstances where you are like, 'Yeah, I need this looked at.' But, to pull yourself off mid-series after one pass play, in which it seemed everything was fine in the second half of the game, in which you seemed like you were throwing the ball fine... yeah, I don't love the optics of it.

"I don't love what it means for him. I mean, for a guy that has battled injuries and has this mark on him, as far as a reputation of not being healthy, I don't know, I would have gutted through it. Me personally, I would have pushed through it as much as I could. Get through the series and if you have a couple throws where you are errant, and you are inaccurate, and it looks like you can't grip the football, I would choose to have them pull me off the field or evaluate it when the defense is on the field. Then have them deem, 'Hey, let's get you out,' versus taking myself out of the game."

This morning on the @PowerTripKFAN, @nacholeber shared his thoughts on J.J. McCarthy pulling himself out of Sunday's game along with what he thinks his chances are at keeping his starting role for the Vikings next season. pic.twitter.com/DHBR5egHO0
— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) January 5, 2026

Following the game, McCarthy said the decision was his, noting how he tried to play through similar pain in the Giants game after suffering the injury, which led to a strip-sack touchdown.

"It feels bad on my heart, but I was happy I made the right decision," McCarthy said. "It killed me to pull myself out, never done that before, but had to do what's best for the team."

The decision meant that McCarthy was once again unable to finish a game he started. He has now played just 10 games since being taken with 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft, having missed his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus, and then suffering ankle, head, and hand injuries in Year 2.

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